I'm a what?
by MerhppDerhpp
Summary: I always loved ninjas. It was my birthday. Life had the perfect present for me; Death. Life then decided to put me in a world that revolved around ninjas. As a newborn. One life for another, right? Self-insert OC. M Rated for swearing. -Probably being rewritten-
1. Where am I?

I rewrite parts of this first chapter. I'm planning on rewriting some of the other chapters too. It gets better, I think. Enjoy.

* * *

My name is Taidana Kuroki.

I wasn't always called by this name.

I lived in another world, but I was dead to the residents of that world. I can't say my old name, because I forgot what it was.

Before I died, I was running. My body ached, being bruised and battered all over, but I refused to stop. I had to keep running, and push them out of the way.

Their eyes were of shock when they turned to me in mid-air, seeing as I pushed them out of the way. They stretched out a hand toward me, but I refused to take it. I smiled at them, before something _smashed_ into my side, and everything had went black. I knew I had died.

I knew.

So when a blinding light burnt into my eyes, I thought it was heaven or something. I tried to adjust my vision by blinking a few times, but they remained like glasses not meant for a person who had perfect vision. I squirmed in annoyance. Where was I? What happened?

I squeaked in automatic protest when something grabbed me and held me up. Whatever they were brought me closer to the damned light, and it burned. Badly. I tried to speak, to tell them to fuck off and put me down, but all that came out was a few horrible screams and soon little gurgles. I blinked in confusion. Why had I sounded just like a new born?

The answer was fairly simple.

It was because I was one.

I tried moving my hands, but they felt so much shorter than I was used to. I tried rolling out of what I was assuming was a pair of hands, but they held me securely to their chest. I could see their outline, they were looking down at me, but I couldn't put details in. I only knew they were dark.

"-tiful." I inwardly cringed in confusion. What did they say? It sounded...japanese.

"She'll...fine...child..." I could tell they were using full sentences, but I couldn't hear them, my annoyingly undeveloped ears unable to comprehend but even if I could hear them properly, I wouldn't be able to understand them. Even though I had learnt a few sentences from watching my lovely anime, I'm pretty sure they would say other sentences than just 'good morning' and all that. The one holding my form cradled me with...love and care? The sensation was foreign to me, but it made me feel safe, even if I was terrified of why I was reborn with my conscious still in tact.

Let's skip a few months ahead, where I was able to see clearly and hear properly. My physical body was only a few months old, and it was difficult to train my new limbs how to move and feel strong enough to hold me up. Though I had never seen my new and childish face, I knew my skin was a tan colour, and my hair was coal black. That's all I really knew about my new self, other than the fact that I was a fucking baby.

I had learnt that japanese was the natural language wherever I was, and I had to take the obvious guess we were in Japan. In what time setting and where in Japan is another mystery. In the months it had taken me to be able to walk, I had been able to understand simple sentences my 'parents' used to speak to me.

They were shocked that I had been teaching myself to crawl and walk in less than a year of my rebirth. I was an ant compared to them, and I wanted to be able to move on my own instead of have them carry me around. I was initially annoyed with the two people who were obviously this body's parents. My 'father' was named Kuroi. He was young, probably only in his early twenties. His hair was naturally spiked and messy, soft too. I only knew because I decided to see if his hair was spikey, like it looked, but it was really soft. He had dark eyes that were almost black, but any who looked close enough could see the tinge of brown. He had light bags under his eyes, and when I lightly poked them, he chuckled.

"You're wondering why they never go away, my little Kuro-chan?" He asked me as I sat on his lap, one of his large hands securing my back so I wouldn't fall back. Kuroi's voice was deep, but soft and laid-back. I nodded to his question, curiously staring at them. I was proud to be able to understand what he's saying with a good understanding. Japanese wasn't that hard to learn when my 'parents' were helping me, but yet again they were surprised of the growth of their few-month-old baby. Sure, I'd like to play along and let them look after me, but it simply annoyed me at times.

"Because it's a family trait on my side." I blinked at him. How is it a family trait?

Kuroi chuckled, ruffling my hair. "Strange, isn't it?" I nodded slightly.

"You're incredibly smart for a baby who's only a few months old." He commented, the look in his eyes was unreadable. "Whenever I look into your eyes, I feel like I'm looking at someone much older."

I tilted my head.

"I'm not sure either, little Kuro-chan." He commented, ruffling my hair softly as if he knew what I was thinking. Perhaps he did, but I wouldn't know for a long while.

* * *

My mother, Aonami, was a beautiful woman. She had shining emerald eyes that held so much happiness in them, flawless lightly tanned skin and silky black hair. She smiled lovingly at me, then turned her gaze to the archway. I turned seeing my father in clothes that looked extremely familiar.

He wore blue ninja clothes. I snickered at the unusual sight, and he scooped me up. He was wearing a forehead protector, and I moved his bangs out of the way to see something rather shocking.

There was the Konoha symbol.

Which was out of Naruto.

Naruto.

At first I totally thought he was cosplaying, earning him a deranged giggle from yours truly, but when he walked to the window, I was mentally fucked over. There was Konoha Mountain.

Mind fucked.

Well, I slowly got used to the fact that I was in an anime, I wondered how I came to be in this world. It was fictional, wasn't it? From the moment I was born into this world, I always felt a strange sensation within me. Seeing as I was in the Naruto-verse, I guessed it was my chakra system. It was such a strange feeling, and I when I wasn't reading or sleeping, I was playing with my chakra.

I always had to concentrate to locate it, I normally loved sticking leaves and other things onto me, and I would always giggle. I noticed my giggle fits were slightly deranged, like I was some mad scientist who just successfully completed an experiment. Maybe being reborn messed my mentality up.

I was too young to be able to do anything other than that it seemed. And I decided that reading would occupy most of my time. It helped a lot. Aonami had a library that was huge, full of scrolls and books that helped me learn more about this world.

Everything was peaceful, my skills in Japanese improved, my relationship with my mother and father was something that nearly made me cry. They were unlike my old family, which was broken. My old mother was barely there, my grandparents looking after me. My old father, well, I didn't know who the fuck he was until I was seven. Dick.

But I should've known...I should've known that nothing was meant to be forever peaceful.

I was two, when it seemed that the Kyuubi attack happened. I never saw it, some part of me wanted to see its magnificence, but a more powerful part told me that the Nine-Tails was dangerous.

Its chakra was demonic. Terrifying. I stayed in a corner of my room, where my bed huddled against the wall. I was silent, the feeling of fear was dull, but it was there. For some reason, though I could feel its power, its anger and how monstrous it was, I wasn't scared to the point where I was frozen with fear. No. I was tired, actually. The atmosphere keeping me awake. My mother and father seemed to have gone somewhere, probably to fight the Kyuubi, but I know they wouldn't leave me here without telling me.

I figured I was too zoned out to notice if they came into the room to check on me. While my mother was a retired ninja, she still went to fight with my father. Then something knocked into my head.

They could die out there.

Then I was scared. I was mortified by the sheer fact that I could lose my new family. I had abruptly gotten up, ran out of my home as fast as my two-year-old body could take me. There were ninjas everywhere, too preoccupied by the sight of the Nine-Tails to notice my little form running past them.

At the edge of the village, I could sense the familiar chakra of my mother and father. They seemed to have noticed me to. They turned and were simply shocked to see me out and about. "Kuroki!" My father exclaimed, quickly coming towards me. He squatted on a 45 degree angle of me, giving me a perfect view of the giant creature. I was entranced by its sight. Fear was far from my thoughts, the only thing in my view, was the Kyuubi. Magnificent and feral at the same time. Such a thing should have made me feel like it should die for the lives it took, but nothing but respect and awe was what I had for the damned thing.

My mother seemed to be conversing with another ninja before swooping me up in her arms. Her emerald eyes hardened as she looked to her husband. "Let's get Kuroki back home, I will not have her here!" She announced, my father nodding as her turned and disappeared in the direction of home. My mother followed after him.

I was amazed by the fact that she was so quick.

* * *

When I was four, it had been two years since the Kyuubi attack. I was glad my mother and father had been able to live through it. I don't know what I would've done without them. It seemed that they were determined to make me stronger, and so, when I was three, my father began to teach me in taijutsu while my mum helped me with chakra control and all that. Personally, I loved taijutsu the most. While it was exhausting and my muscles ached for days on end, it made me feel alive.

I fought a lot in my old world, but none of the muscles I had gained where transferred here. At least I could remember the stances and all.

We went through many exercises, many were laps around training grounds, which I initially hated, but my new body was adept for learning. Others included sparring with my father. It was awesome how he was a Jounin. He once told me that he used to be an ANBU captain, which made me want to become so goddamn awesome to the point of being at least a Jounin.

With my mother, she made me channel my chakra into certain parts of my body, and even use chakra strings. Chakra strings were a bitch. Seriously. They were to develop control over chakra outside the body. Chakra strings were confusing in concept, but there wasn't really much difference between creating one and twenty, except in moving them after. I got so confused with connecting the strings to three objects, so I wasn't able to move them. With two, it wasn't as hard, but still mind fucked me.

Things were slow, but I kind of liked it. Training was a bitch sometimes, but it was fun. Learning new things. Kuroi and Aonami were amazing parents, and I loved them. I wondered if they were in a clan, but I hadn't seen anyone who resembled either of my parents. Maybe they were originally from a different village.

I think, it was when I went to the park with my mum that I met one of the Rookie Nine. I was so involved with training and all that bullshit that I hadn't even registered the fact that I was bound to meet the main characters, along with the main supporting characters. The one I saw was Inuzuka Kiba. He was around two, I think. Clinging to what seemed to be his sister. My first thought was how animalistic he looked. A hostile expression on his face when the other kids came by.

My mother seemed to notice my staring at the Inuzuka, and decided to call on them. I groaned, that wasn't part of my plan-in-process. The two came over, Kiba still clinging to his sister as he eyed me warily. My mother smiled. ''Hana! Kiba! You both have grown since I last saw you." She commented with a great grin, causing Hana to smile softly up at her as Kiba simply looked away.

"Aonami-san." She nodded at my mother. "How have you been?"

My mother smiled. "Good, have you met my daughter, Kuroki?"

Hana and Kiba both turned to look at me. I glanced up at my mum before returning to look at Hana. She smiled.

"Hello. I'm Hana." She greeted. Mature for her age. Her arms snaked around Kiba and pushed him forward, a gasp escaping his lips as he neared me. He frowned back at his sister. "This is my little brother Kiba."

Kiba huffed as his eyes locked with mine. I wonder what he was thinking, because I don't even know what I look like. Heh.

He frowned even more before looking down. "Hi." Was all he said.

I half-grinned, half-smirked. I had a feeling that'd be my smile for a long time. "I'm Kuroki. Nice to meet you."

Hana had led my mother to her own, engaging in conversation as Kiba and I were left alone. He looked uncomfortable while I looked at the clouds. "Do you like dogs?" He asked suddenly, my eyes shifting to him, I almost let a smirk slip at his attempt to look serious.

"I do." I replied. My voice, though high-pitched, it was deeper than many of the other children of my body's age group.

A grin emerged onto Kiba's face. I couldn't help but grin slightly too.

Kiba had opened up to me, and when we had to leave, he seemed reluctant to saying goodbye. I smiled my strange smile. "I'll see you around. We can train together." I said, which caused him to brighten up. He wasn't that much different from Naruto in a sense.

* * *

I had gained my first scars a few days before my fifth birthday, which was on the second of May. I was surprised to know that my birthday was the same here, as it was in my past life. Lucky. Or maybe because it was my birthday the day I died.

"Kuroi-kun, how could you let our beautiful Kuroki have scars?!" My mother exclaimed to my father. He scratched the back of his head.

"Nami-chan~." He said my mum's nickname in a laid-back tone, waving a dismissive hand in the process. It pissed mum off even more. "Kuroki is going to be a ninja, scars are inevitably going to happen."

"She's going to be five in four days! Five!" She even waved her hand in his face, emphasising my age. A scowl was on her face. "She shouldn't get scars until she's much older!"

In all honesty, I didn't mind. Scars were scars, and I used to have a lot of them. On my wrist. But on this body, I had gained fresh new scars on the right front side of my neck, and on the left side of my forehead, above my eyebrow. Concealed by my clothes, there were more scars in the making, but it was apart of training, and it showed that dad took me seriously. To some degree. I decided now should be the time to intervene their little argument.

"Kaa-san." I called softly, my mum's fiery emerald orbs shifting to face me, my father following her actions. I looked up at her. "It's okay. I don't mind, besides, it shows I'm getting better." I half-grinned. What am I going to name this fucked up smile of mine?

Aonami's eyes softened as she knelt down to my level. God, it pissed me off that I was a fucking midget.

"Kuroki-chan," My mum started, "You're a beautiful young girl, you shouldn't have scars at your age."

My eyes probably showed how annoyed I was at the fact that I was a 'young girl'. But seeing as I have yet to know what I look like, (I'm too fucking small to see the damn mirror) I wouldn't know. I sighed, like I was the older one, which seemed to catch my father off-guard.

"Mum, I'm not worried about my looks. You know this. I don't even know what I look like." This caught my mother off-guard this time. So she didn't know that I had no idea what I looked like.

Fuck.

* * *

I fixed up the beginning of the story, so it's not like shit much anymore. Hoorah.


	2. Uchiha Itachi

I stood in front of the mirror that was brought down to my height. My skin was a tan like my father's, my eyes were a black-brown. I seemed to have bags forming under my eyes, but my father said it was a family trait from his side. There was also a strange mark under my left eye, my mother said I've had it since birth. Strange. There was my scars on my neck and forehead, which I quite liked. There was a mole under my left eye, almost hidden by my black hair. My bangs were swept out of my face, forming as a side fringe. Instead of being split down the middle, it was uneven, the left side having less in its part than the right where my swept bangs swept towards. From the split, my right side was naturally spiked up, and no matter how hard I tried to keep the spiked bits down, they bounced right back up. I decided to leave it. Moving my hair away from my ears, I noticed my ears were heavily pierced. That's what the pain in my ears from ages ago was. Guess it must be a family thing. I couldn't feel the weight of the ear rings though.

The clothes I wore were always a black or some dark colour. I disliked bright colours, it hurt my eyes. I wore a black hoodie with the cuffs covering half of my fingerless-gloved hands. My pants were black, the pants legs wrapped up in bandages to stop them from flapping everywhere. Last thing of my little outfit were the black ninja sandals. I had such a hard time get used to them.

Aonami and Kuroi were at the door, watching me as I examined myself. I liked my appearance. One thing that irked me was the fact that my eyes had no reflection, like I was dead or something. It was strange. Aonami eventually accepted my style of dress, initially wanting me to be more feminine. Kuroi was always accepting of my clothes. Good parents.

It had been three weeks since my fifth birthday. My mum had invited Hana and Kiba, who got me some ninja gear...and a puppy! Can you fucking believe it?! I was so excited that I jumped Kiba and Hana whilst the puppy yipped at us.

My mum got me got me some new clothes, mostly just more copies of my normal attire, but I was grateful. Dad got me some kunai that looked really expensive, they looked like mini lightning blades. I guessed that you could infuse chakra in them. Did he think I was a lightning user? I wonder if I am. He also got me weights that weighed more or less depending on how much chakra you infuse it with. They were about a centimetre thick, which I thought was awesome.  
A pair for the wrists, another pair for the legs and one for the stomach. I can tell that taijutsu is going to be my specialty. They could shrink their size to being skin-tight, which I liked.

I named my puppy Shiruba. Shiruba was a boy with a silver coat, and over the weeks he became a lot heavier. He was such a loyal pup, sitting patiently whilst I trained or meditated. He was quiet in our rather large library. Aonami collected a lot of books and scrolls, but there were some things she didn't have, amazingly, so I would go to the village library with Shiruba. We have bonded quickly.

Kuroi had me start Kenjutsu. It was to do with swords. I had a hard time using them, since I was more accustomed to hand-to-hand combat. I was terrible compared to Kuroi, but it was only my first day, so I was bound to get better.

* * *

Training for most of my new life gained me a lot of experience, and my body was becoming toned. I'm six, and my body is toned to its maximum for a six-year-old. I wonder how that works.

The weights became heavier as I improved, and I was being called a prodigy because of my skills that my parents have been teaching me. Apparently I was at the level of a genin, and many wondered why I wasn't in the Academy yet. I actually decided to go when I was eight. That gave me more time for more important learning and training, because I sure as fuck know that the academy is going to be boring and have nothing new for me to learn.

Didn't Kakashi become a genin at five, then chunin at six?

Oh, my fuck. I'm a Mary-sue!?

No. No! Why?! Wait...it could just be...be...be what?! Fucking dick-wranglers!

I noticed I was scowling deeply, and my chakra had fluctuated due to the sudden anger I felt. I breathed in, calming myself down.

I was pissed, I knew of the people who smashed on those original characters who seemed to be too good. I can imagine the fuckwits smashing onto me as if I were in a fanfiction. I wanted to break something. Then I saw him.

It was so surprising, that my anger disappeared at the drop of a hat. I had been in the streets at the time, and I had never expected to see this guy so soon, or at all for that matter.

Uchiha Itachi.

"Well, fuck." I actually voiced, which was such a mistake as Itachi noticed my presence now, if he hadn't before. He turned, dark eyes connecting with slightly lighter eyes. I was a little stunned at the moment, so I had no idea what the fuck to say. Wait, I swore in front of him, as a six-year-old! Ah, fuck.

"Who are you?" He asked in monotone. He's nine, isn't he? And he's still impassive.

I blinked, averting my eyes to a nearby tree. Shit. Who knew it would feel so awkward to be in a nine-year-old's presence. But he's rather intimidating. Pscht. Get a grip, Kuroki. I breathed in, closing my eyes before reopening them to see the elder Uchiha waiting patiently for my response.

"I'm Taidana Kuroki." I introduced, my voice easy-going and lazed. I cracked my neck, was I meant to bow? "You?" I asked a few seconds later, it would seem weird if I was the only one to state names.

"Uchiha Itachi." He replied. This was such a strange event. Hold up.

He should've graduated and mastered his Sharingan by now. If he's a genin, then I can see if I'm at the level of a genin like they seem to believe. I did my strange smirk-grin before walking a few steps towards him until I was about half a metre away.

"Hey, Uchiha-san?" I started, lazed eyes going over his annoyingly taller form. "Can we spar?"

The elder Uchiha seemed a little surprised by that request, as his eyes widened a fraction, if only for a few seconds. He averted his eyes before returning to meet mine.

"I have some errands to do..." He replied, I sighed in disappointment. Damn. "But when I see you the next time I'm not busy, we may."

I looked up at him in surprise, before grinning some kind of grin. "Nice. Next time we see each other, then. I'll see you." I moved some chakra into my feet as I bent my knees, pushing off the ground to jump up onto one of the nearby roofs. I couldn't help by snicker in glee at the fact that I could do such an awesome thing. I walked off, not bothering to look back at the Uchiha. He was probably gone by the time I was on the roof anyways.

Back to the subject at hand...I'm not a mary-sue. Aren't mary-sues like them perfect little bitches that have everyone loving them and all that shit?

Well, I can tell people will hate me. I have that kind of personality to be blunt.

And I swear too much.

Also, I'm shit at genjutsu. I'm just horrible. I can't even describe. Maybe it's because I don't tend to care about it, but my mother does still teach it to me. The whole thing with illusions just isn't my style, sadly I like to just be on with it and do some physical damage with ninjutsu and taijutsu. It helps with the anger issues.

Ah, fuck. Enough with the self-assurance. I feel pathetic now. Guh.

Turns out I walked all the way home and didn't even realise it. Shiruba jumped out the open window to greet me, running towards me like a mad dog. I grinned at him, dropping to my knees to pat him affectionately.

"Hey, there butterball. How's my favourite Shiruba?" He barked excitedly in response, trying to lick my face off.

Cute.

* * *

A wave of kunai and ninja stars flew my way, I sent chakra to my feet so I could jump higher to dodge them. Another wave came at me while I was airborne. A scowl formed on my face as I growled slightly.

It was kind of weird, seeing myself being impaled with a bunch of pointy objects, then popping into a log. Body Replacement jutsu, I love you. I looked to the place my opponent stood from my spot in the tree I hid in, only to see a pair of red eyes looking my way. Fuck him and his Sharingan.

I threw kunai with explosive tags in his direction, the tags wrapped around the hilt instead of fluttering behind the damn weapons. They cut through the air, but he was quick to dodge and jumped out of the way as they embedded themselves into the dirt. I grinned some sadistic grin, he was only around two metres away.

FUCKING BOOM!

Explosions went off, the combined kunai causing even more destructive damage. Fuck yeah! It caught that damned Uchiha off guard, causing him to be blown away from the force. I had to force myself not to laugh insanely at the sound and sight of destruction.

I am so fucked up.

Fifteen minutes later, Itachi and I were in a full blown taijutsu battle. Yes, he got a few hits in, but so did I, and from what I noticed, he wasn't wearing weights, and my hits were destructive. He cringed every time I punched or kicked him and he blocked with his hands. While his own blows were strong, I blocked with the weights I wore, feeling just a slight pressure on my weights as his limbs made contact with them, but he got noticed the weights and started aiming for other parts. His hits were brutal too. We were keeping each other on edge, not able to let our guard's down for a single second unless we want to be sucker punched in the face. His sharingan made things annoying, as he was able to predict my movements. But only for a short amount of time, because I was gradually releasing the chakra from my weights, giving him less time to predict my movements.

All in all, we were pretty evenly matched, which made me pretty fucking happy considering this is Uchiha Itachi! Even if he was nine.

So, after a nice two hours of death-enhancing sparring, the training field looked like a ninja war zone and we looked like we were beaten up with rocks. We had scratches, forming bruises, cuts here and there. But it was fun, and my grin gave away my emotion. It caused the Uchiha to smirk in the slightest. Tight asses can't smile, you see.

I had the pleasure of finding him a few days after our first encounter on my errand to buy new weapons. Kuroi said he was buying me a special katana that would allow me to use ninjutsu on it so I could enhance its capabilities. Finding the Uchiha free and getting an awesome new weapon. One of the coolest days of my new life.

"You're pretty good." Itachi complimented. We were sitting on a grassy hill, overlooking Konoha. Well, he was sitting, I was lying down, staring at the sky.

"You're pretty amazing yourself." I replied, glancing at him with amusement. "But your sharingan pisses me off. Predicting my moves is unfair."

The damned brat smirked.

"You were able to keep up." He retorted. I was happy with that. Amazed, too. But he was nine. Not as advanced with everything, even if he mastered the sharingan already.

I grinned my signature fucked up grin. Then it occurred to me that I lost track of time. I sat up abruptly.

"Holy shit, I forgot to meet up with my dad!" I exclaimed, hastily moving to my feet. I looked back towards the Uchiha.

"Thanks for the spar. We should do it again sometime." I suggested, stretching. Itachi nodded, that small smirk still on his still-developing face.

"We should." Then I was off, jumping from roof to roof to meet up with my dad. I've got to learn the body flicker technique.


	3. Uchiha Sasuke and Lightning

Over the course of my sixth and seventh years as a reborn child, I had become good friends with Itachi, whom I often trained with whenever I had my days off from training with my mother and father. Unlike the time when I would be too lazy in my old life, something drove me forward, to continue to become stronger, better.

I had even gone to the Uchiha compound, and had met Shisui and Sasuke Uchiha. Shisui was a joker, and blunt. We got along rather well. Even as a child, he was awesome at the body flicker, not as good as when he was older, but way better than I ever was. We didn't see each other much, but we would talk whenever we did.

Sasuke was wary of me at first when I first came to the compound with Itachi, latching himself onto the elder Uchiha and eying me like I was going to steal his precious brother. I think I scared him a bit, but he eventually warmed up. Watching him was amusing, he was cute, smiled a lot and was loving. It's sad to think he'll be a deranged avenger.

"Kuroki-chan." I looked to my left to find the smaller Uchiha looking up at me with curious eyes. I grinned, he reminded me of a darker Shiruba. "Mm?"

He fidgeted a bit, blushing lightly and averting his eyes from mine to look at the ground. Bad time to snicker, so I forced myself not to, and instead settled with an amused half grin. Then he looked up, looking angry at my apparent amusement in his awkwardness. "Are you a genin?" He asked finally.

Whoa, what? Where'd that come from. I averted my eyes to look at a nearby object, waving my hand dismissively in front of him. "Nah, I'm at the level though." I replied with that fucked up grin I owned, looking back down at him.

"I'm entering the academy next year." Sasuke seemed surprised by my lazed announcement, but then smiled up at me. The cute little shit he is.

"I'm entering then too!" He exclaimed, but then frowned, looking at my stomach before looking back up at me. "But aren't you seven? You should be in the academy or graduated by now."

Deciding to sit down on the small hill we were standing on in the compound, I sighed, looking to the sky. Sasuke followed my actions and sat next to me, folding his legs to his chest and looking at me with curiosity. I glanced at him. "I decided to start later. My parents train me and teach me way more than what the Academy can do, so an extra two years of more training would help me more." I explained briefly, frowning to think if I had explained that right. Sasuke looked at the grass in front of him.

"That makes sense..." He commented so softly I almost had to ask him to repeat it. Looking over to him, he seemed disheartened by something. Ah, that's right. Being the shadow of your elder sibling has never been a great feeling. Half grinning, I ruffled his hair.

"Wha-?! Hey!" He protested, scowling lightly as he removed my hand from his now messed up hair. Which by the way, made me snicker like I was reading Romeo & Juliet and a line was 'I bare thy naked weapon out'. The thought made me turn from snickers to a full out laugh. Sasuke, being the cute kid he was, was thinking I was laughing too hard at his disheveled appearance, and pushed me. I fell, holding my stomach to try and suppress the growing pains of laughter.

"Not funny." He commented, blushing with a frown and looking away from me. A feeling of dull sorrow overcame me as I stared at Sasuke whilst laying down. His eyes shifted to look at me, noticing my probably pitiful stare towards him. "W-What?" The little Uchiha stuttered, uncomfortable with my staring. I sat up, leaning into his face, which caused him to blush madly at the proximity, but I paid it no mind. I grabbed the little shit around the neck and pulled him to me in a hug. He made a small 'oomph' sound before shifting uncomfortably.

"Kuroki-chan?" So cute...yet so sad. I didn't like it, that my friends were going to be torn apart in only two years. Shisui would give his eye to Itachi, Itachi would kill everyone except Sasuke and send the little brat onto the path of an avenger. Frankly, it always pissed me off, but while I could change it...I wouldn't. It'd change too much.

"One day, you'll overcome the wall that is your brother." I commented, probably sounding like a small child trying to be mature and wise. Dammit. "One day, you'll be just as talented as your brother." I grasped his shoulders, pushing him away from me so we could see each other's faces. He looked surprised while I smiled slightly.

The younger Uchiha frowned, looking to his side whilst a small blush graced his cheeks. Awh, he's flattered. I took on a more joking grin. "Of course, I'll always be able to kick your ass."

Sasuke's eyes snapped towards me, a look of determination in his eyes. "No way! I won't let you beat me either!" He announced, standing up and pointing at me. "I'll show you, Kuroki-chan!" Heh. Amusing.

"Let's see you try." I challenged, standing up and currently towering over him. Training with the Uchiha's were always amusing.

* * *

The little Uchiha panted heavily across from me, whilst I simply smirk-grinned with my hands in my pockets. We were doing an exercise that required him to be able to land a hit on me. The little turd wasn't able to even touch me, let alone hit me. But then again, he was five. He'll get better in the future.

"Kuroki-chan. Sasuke." I turned to see Itachi standing a few metres away from us, glancing from Sasuke to me. He nodded to me, I smirk-grinned to him.

"Nii-san!" Sasuke temporarily forgot his fatigue and frustration with our exercise and run over to his beloved brother. It was touching, actually. My little brother was a little fucker who made me put him in hospital more than a few times.

I had accidentally blocked out their conversation as the memories of my old life flashed in my mind. That image of his face as I pushed him out of the way. Only when Itachi called my name, did I snap back to reality. "Kuroki-chan, it's almost time for you to see your father." Oh, shit.

My eyes widened a fraction before I began to make my way to the entrance of the compound. "Motherfucker!" I swore. I always swore whenever I lost track of time, which was rather common. Sasuke and Itachi grew used to my profanities, and Itachi had been good enough to make sure Sasuke didn't get influenced by my swearing habit. Good older brother, he was.

Sasuke and Itachi stood at the entrance of the compound with me, I turned grinning slightly and waving at them. "I'll see you." They waved, one with a small smile and the other with a large grin.

"I'll definitely beat you next time!" Sasuke called. I smirk-grinned.

I jumped down from the roof I was previously on, landing in the middle of the training ground that was filled with courses and kunai. My father stood in the middle, his arms folded and his eyes connecting with mine. He grinned, I grinned.

"Late again, Kuroki. It's become a habit now." He commented with a laid-back tone, not really worried. I was more like my father, than my mother. The only similarities we had were the fact that she loved reading, betting and winning, and was rather good at blackmail. Awesome mother, but scary at the same time.

I waved a dismissive hand in his direction. "I was training with the Uchihas."

Kuroi chuckled, and walked towards me. He rummaged through one of his pouches and pulled out some kind of paper. Wait... "No way, is that the chakra paper?" I gasped softly, taking a hold of it as he stretched his arm out.

He smiled, nodding. "I'm hoping your affinity is lightning, because I got a bunch of lightning chakra-based weapons." I rolled my eyes, what if I was a fire-type? Deciding it was time to figure out my affinity, I stared at the paper before putting a little chakra into it. It wrinkled. Kuroi fist-pumped once lazily. I scoffed light-heartedly, flinging the paper at him, which he caught and placed in his pouch. "Awesome. I'm a lightning user too, so this should be fun."

"What's your second element?" I asked, tilting my head in curiosity.

"Water." He replied, scratching his head. I gasped dramatically.

"You have to teach me water release after you've taught me lightning release!" I exclaimed.

* * *

Lightning Release is to generate lightning by increasing the high frequency vibrations of their chakra, allowing for piercing damage and fast movement. The electricity paralyses the target so that they are unable to move and leave them vulnerable to a finishing strike. While uncommon, lightning can be infused into bladed weapons in a way similar to Wind Release through chakra flow for increased piercing power through vibrations, with the added effect of inducing numbness. When the technique is released from their bodies, and thus not requiring physical contact, it does not move as fast as true lightning. Instead, due to the control the user has to exert over it, it moves far slower, which can give opponents time to still react.

That was my father's explanation of Lightning Release. We had been training for over an hour to mould my chakra, then release it as lightning chakra. Controlling it was a bitch, as each time I released it, my attempt would fly in all sorts of directions. It was also a lot slower than Kuroi's, as he had shown me demonstrations on how to do it. I was exhausted, but I would keep trying.

"Again." He ordered lazily, leaning against a nearby tree as I concentrated with my chakra. I could feel the vibrations, and moved my chakra around my body, which was beginning to spark with blue lightning here and there. I moved my hands into a more appropriate position, as I would be releasing my lightning chakra through my hands. The vibrations became stronger as the chakra around my hands built up. Before long, I made an exhale and pushed the chakra away from my hands, hoping to hit the tree that was in my line of sight. Instead, it went more to the left of the tree and missed completely.

Fuck.

That was the last time I could train with my affinity for the day. Yes, it was easier than what it would be for a non-lightning based person, I just had shit control. I was panting as Kuroi walked towards me, smiling lazily and patting my shoulder. "Alright, enough for today. We'll work on infusing your specialised kunai with lightning ninjutsu tomorrow." Eh...I just want to sleep.

Shiruba pounced on me as soon as I had opened the door to our home. I smiled as I caught his forelegs so he wouldn't push me over. He was rather big now. I always thought it'd be cool to have him as my ninken, but I decided against it. I feel like I'd be copying that damned Kiba. Speaking of him, I could smell him from the front door. His head poked out from the dining room, a large grin on his features.

"Yo, Kuro-chan! Hey, Kuroi-san!" He greeted, waving happily at me before stepping out to let me see him fully. Still short, but I was two years older and he was still five. Them damn boys. They're going to be way taller than me in a few years. Fuck them.

Kuroi grinned at Kiba at my side, guess he finished his errand. "Hey, Kiba, how's your mother?" He asked, not knowing that Kiba's mum was already here before her laughter filled the house. I could hear Aonami's laughter too.

"I'll go ask her myself, then." He smiled awkwardly. Kiba laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head as he didn't know what to say. Tsume was a pretty intimidating woman, but she was good-hearted. I think. Kuroi ruffled my hair before walking past Shiruba and I, then Kiba and disappeared into the dining room. The whole time I had been petting Shiruba, who was now at my side as I walked to Kiba. He noticed how exhausted I looked.

"Training?" I nodded. He grinned. "I don't have to train that much yet."

I smirk-grinned. "Then I'll always be ahead of you." A snicker escaped my lips as he looked horrified by the fact.

"Dammit! I should get Hana-chan to train me." Shiruba barked happily at the mention of Hana's name. The dog seemed to have a thing for the elder Inuzuka.

Kiba, Hana and Tsume regularly came over for dinner, well, there were times when one of them wouldn't show up, like when Kiba caught a cold that spread through his compound like a virus. Luckily Hana and Tsume were out long enough not to get sick. Tonight, Hana couldn't come. She was working on academy stuff, and training. Tsume and Aonami were best friends from what I could tell. They were different, but had a few similarities, which was all they needed to be friends. Kuroi was scared shitless of the Inuzuka woman, which I found amusing.

"So we're going to the academy together next year?" Kiba asked as he bit into his meat like a dog. I nodded, biting into mine like him, but a little less dog-like. He grinned, revealing bits and pieces of meat between his teeth. I dropped my steak onto my plate and placed a mouth over my mouth to stop me from spitting my dinner everywhere. My shoulders shook as I snickered at the sight. Kiba noticed what I was laughing at and swallowed, grinning and laughing. Nights with the Inuzuka's were fun, even if I was tired. Kiba mentioned that he got a puppy from his mother not long ago. His name was Akamaru. The kid wanted to bring him over so I could meet him, but the pup was too small and fragile at the moment. I said I would wait until next time.

"Later, Kuro-chan!" Kiba waved back at me as he walked down the street with his mum. Aonami frantically waved at Tsume with a large grin, earning herself a loud laugh from the dog woman. I smirk-grinned, waving to Kiba as Shiruba barked. The four of us walked inside, Kuroi locking the door behind us as I walked up the stairs. Shiruba following.

"Night!" I called, walking into my room. I heard Kuroi and Aonami reply to me downstairs. I sighed, grabbing a towel, taking off my ninja sandals and making my way to the bathroom. Shiruba jumped up on my queen sized bed and made himself comfortable. He knew how things went down.

I yawned for, I don't know, the eighteenth time before plopping onto my bed, Shiruba making room for me. I wore comfortable black shorts and a hoodie that wasn't meant for harsh treatment. My hair was still damp, but fatigue gave me a reason not to care. I moved under the thick blankets of my bed, making myself comfortable. Shiruba moved closer on the bed, I didn't mind, we always slept together.

When I closed my eyes, I could feel sleep drag me into the world of dreams.

* * *

School started today. I couldn't help but feel a little anxious of the events that would occur in my academy life. I had improved greatly since the first day I began training with lightning. The weights I wore held a lot of chakra, and while they were fairly easy to move around in, it slowed me a lot more than my actual speed. My chakra stores had grown to a point where I could use a lot of chakra before running on empty. Of course I had no where near as much one of the Jinchuurikis, but it was fairly large considering my age.

I could talk more about how awesome I am, and all that, but we should move onto my school life.

If I showed too much excellence in my grades, I would graduate too quickly, and really, I didn't want that. Academy life was my chill time compared to anything else. Aonami had dropped me off at the academy, Kuroi on a mission for three days.

Damn him.

I wanted to kill something. The amount of kids made me want to throw explosive tags everywhere and hope I kill them all. They were all so loud...and short. Well, yeah there were a few who were taller than me, but that was because they were my seniors. Or they were in the same age group? Guh. Fuck it.

Looking at the bulletin where they put up the names for each class, I was in...what class was I in? Ah, fuck. I forgot, and I was already far from the bulletin. Inside a classroom, I saw a familiar figure.

Kiba.

Looking to my left, then looking to my right, and noticing no one gave a shit about me at this current point in time, I strolled into the classroom, acting as if it was always the class I was assigned in. Kiba noticed me, and stood up from his seat at the front row. He grinned and waved over to me. "Yo, Kuroki-chan!"

I grinned, giving a small wave and walking over to him. Glancing around, I noticed that bug dude, Shino, Hyuuga Hinata, Nara Shikamaru, that guy who always eats, Akimichi Choji, and Naruto were in this class. It would be pretty awesome if I were in this class.

"You in this class too, Kuroki?" Kiba asked as I decided to sit on the desk in front of him, yawning lightly.

"I actually have no clue. I saw you and just decided to come in here."

Kiba snorted, grinning that toothy grin. "Sounds like you, and speaking of me, I'm totally going to beat you!" He announced, standing up and pointing a finger at me after the 'me' in his sentence. I gave a dismissive wave, looking at the class. Is the main character looking at me?

He is.

That's pretty fucking cool, if I may fucking say so.

Giving my signature smirk-grin to him, his eyes widened before huffing and looking away. For all he knows, I could be mocking him and he was pissed off about that. Eh.

Some teacher walked in, and his eyes scanned the room before landing on me, who was the only one of the desks and with darker skin. Someone is going to be racist about my skin, even if we're like, all asian.

"Are you in my class?" The teacher asked me, his dull brown eyes staring at me. I turned, cracking my neck.

I shrugged. "I don't know, want to check?" I asked casually, yawning as he frowned.

"Name?"

"Taidana Kuroki."

He went through his roll, and the time he took made me want to sleep.

"You're here. Take a seat...on one of the seats."

I moved to sit next to Kiba, who was the closest to the window in our row. We grinned at each other.

* * *

I would appreciate reviews. (:


	4. Bonds

It was a week after our school life started that I decided to speak with Shikamaru and Choji. Kiba and I usually ate lunch together, sometimes he'd invite some other kids, but they turned out to be incredibly annoying, ranting on and on about how Sasuke was getting all the girls. Who would want girls like them? They're fucking scary little things.

Shikamaru and Choji sat at a secluded area where a large tree provided them shade. There was a spot like it, in another area not far from this one. It was the one Kiba and I sat at. I was sick of listening to Kiba boast about his skills alone.

The young Nara noticed me walk up to them, and lazily kept eye contact with me. Once I was close enough, I gave a small wave and smirked slightly. They weren't ready for my fucked up grin. "Hey." I greeted.

"Hey." Shikamaru replied. Choji blushed and nodded in acknowledgment. Shy thing, he was. "You're Taidana Kuroki, right?"

I nodded. Nice to know people knew of me. "I'm going to be blunt, so be warned." I warned with a small grin. "I would like you two to join my little group of Kiba and I. Although the dog is hanging with those annoying kids of our class right now, I just wanted to make the offer."

Choji looked to Shikamaru. Shikamaru looked to Choji. A few moments passed before the lazy kid sighed and looked at me. "Troublesome, but I guess we have no choice."

Pscht. They had a choice, but whatever. I smirk-grinned. "Nice. Well, I'm going to sit here." I moved and sat in between the two, leaning against the large tree trunk as well. "Going to find Kiba would be more of an annoyance than anything. I'd probably get into a fight with one of his bratty friends."

I guess that comment led to us three talking a bit more, I mean, Shikamaru was a lazy one and Choji was shy, but they gradually opened up to me.

"Chip?" Choji held out his packet of chips, the flavour eluding me. I was hungry anyways, even though Kiba and I wolfed down our rather huge lunches.

The chips tasted a bit like barbeque. That was cool.

Lunch was over, and I decided to move to the back with Shikamaru and Choji. I wanted to be here in the first place, but Kiba was always down front, and I felt like being compliant.

Kiba walked in with his friends, being as loud as ever, boasting about his awesomeness and some other bullshit. When he glanced at the front row, he was confused to not see me there. His eyes scanned the room, and eventually saw me next to Shikamaru, who was next to Choji, who was next to the window. For some reason he wasn't happy.

"What if I didn't want to sit with them, huh?" Kiba argued as we were walking to his house. I don't know how it's so fucking bad that I decided to sit with newly made friends. I groaned.

"Kiba, come on. I just wanted to sit with some new friends." I tried to diffuse his unreasonable anger, but it didn't work. No, he seemed to be horribly offended by this comment, and even gasped dramatically. We had to stop walking because he seemed so upset.

"What about me? Aren't I enough?!" He exclaimed. I had an annoying reminder that he's six. I sighed, my fuck, I wanted to hit him. "Kiba."

He waited impatiently when I stated his name. We stared at each other for a bit. "How many friends do you have at school?"

Kiba seemed taken back by the question, and shifted his look on the ground. He looked guilty, I had to hide the growing grin. "Seven..."

"Exactly." I commented, continuing to walk to his house. He followed after me. "I only had you before Choji and Shikamaru." Well, there was two certain Uchihas, but I wasn't going to mention them.

Glancing at Kiba, he was looking away with a blush. Probably out of embarrassment. "I don't want to become your second or third best friend..." He muttered. I stopped and looked back at him with slightly wide eyes.

"You're jealous?"

The dog boy frowned, his blush deepened, but he said nothing. A wide grin formed.

"Aw~! Little Kiba's jealous his Kuro-chan is going to be taken away from him!" I didn't even bother to hide my very apparent amusement, stepping forward and bending down to his face, basically teasing him. Right in the face.

Kiba's eyes widened and he reeled back in shock, before exploding. "I'm not! Shut up!"

"Hahahaha!" I laughed as one of my hands was placed on top of Kiba's brown mess of hair, his little arms just barely out of reach to punch me. I ruffled his hair, which caused his little explosion to hault.

I smirk-grinned. "You'll always be my first best friend."

* * *

Akamaru jumped towards Kiba as we entered the house, much like how Shiruba did. Except my dog was huge now. The dog boy laughed happily as he picked up his new companion, petting him affectionately. "Did you miss me, Akamaru?" Kiba asked. Akamaru yipped in response.

Saying that Kiba was my first best friend had caused him to calm down, and he even began to boast about how no other friend would surpass his greatness. What a dork, heh.

Akamaru soon jumped from Kiba's arms to me. I grinned as I caught the jumping dog, petting him as he happily greeted me. "Hey, Akamaru. How are you?" Akamaru yipped in response, despite my question actually being rhetorical. "That's good."

I laid at an upside down on the couch in their living room. My legs just barely reaching the top of the couch. My vision was upset down, Kiba's face scrunched up to something akin with disgust, a pencil in his hand. Akamaru laid on my stomach.

"You're horrible at homework." I deadpanned, having a look at his answers for the academy's set homework. Really, I hated homework, studying and all that, but with a mum who threatened to cut off my training and food supply for two days or more, the tests she provided were necessary for my training and life.

"Shut up, I know. I'm not meant for sitting around." Kiba replied, trying to balance the pencil on his finger. When it tipped, he looked at me. "Let me copy yours."

"Pscht. Hell no. You need all the brain training you can get."

"Hey!"

I snickered, Akamaru awoken by my stomach's vibrations.

"It's true." I commented, staring at him. He pouted. I sighed.

"Come over here. I'll teach you." He seemed to be happy about that, and basically jumped to me with his pencil and book.

* * *

"See you, Kuro-chan!" Kiba grinned at me, I grinned back.

"I'll see you."

I waited on the grassy hill which gave me a good view of the village and Hokage Mountain. It was peaceful, and I laid back, staring at the warm blue sky that featured a few wandering clouds. I shut my eyes as I used my arms as a pillow.

"You like staring, huh?" I asked, after some time. My eyes were closed, but I knew there was someone beside me. They flinched, and I slowly opened my eyes to look at them.

"Kuroki-chan...!" Sasuke exclaimed, surprised. "I thought you were asleep."

I grinned. "I was, until I felt the tingling sensation of someone staring."

"Humph."

"Where's Itachi?" I asked as we sat together on the hill.

"Itachi-Nii's on a mission. He won't be back for a week or two." Sasuke informed, jeez, he sounded so lonely. I poked him.

"Wha-?! Hey!" Sasuke lightly glared at me, unsure why I poked him.

A yawn escaped my lips. "You're not alone."

Sasuke blinked, losing his little glare that I found rather cute. He looked down. "Yeah, I guess so..." He agreed slowly, then looked up at me and smiled. "I have you with me."

I nodded, smirk-grinning. "I'll always be there for you."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

I said my goodbyes to Sasuke after walking him to his compound. Kuroi mentioned we had Lightning Release Kenjutsu tomorrow, so tonight was the time to do some chakra exercises.

It was called tree climbing, right? Well, I was currently hanging upside down on a branch in our spacey backyard which is a makeshift training ground/normal backyard. I was reading the Icha Icha series Kuroi had tried to hide from both myself and Aonami. They can't hide shit from me. The series was actually interesting, and while I'm dirty minded, I wasn't into porn, it actually made me laugh at how messed up it all was. I was reading the book to see if I still needed to concentrate when sticking myself upside down on a high tree branch. Every time I lost my shit from laughter, I would fall. But at least I didn't need a lot of concentration.

Water walking isn't that difficult, but concentrating the amount of chakra needed for the water whenever it rippled or swayed was annoying, especially at night. But it was good training. I decided that was all I should do before heading inside and doing all my nightly routines and heading off to bed.

I woke up in the middle of the night. The window which was above my bed gave me a perfect view of the moon. It was in a crescent shape, and it shined brightly. For some reason, I was entranced by it, and I softly petted a sleeping Shiruba as my mind went through many subjects. I didn't get much sleep, much to my annoyance.

Sleep deprivation pissed me off. While I was a nocturnal being in my old life, I'm not here, and being tired meant I wasn't at my best. Then again, training like this could also improve my skills whenever I'm mentally and/or physically exhausted.

Would that work?

* * *

It's been two months since the beginning of my life at the academy. Shikamaru, Choji and I usually hung out, and Kiba often stayed after eating his lunch with us, instead of going off with his friends. He liked to repeat the fact that he was my first best friend. Maybe I should've just smacked him upside the head.

Naruto joined in with our little group. At first, he was skeptical of our intentions, thinking we were trying to trick him into believing we actually liked him before doing some kind of poor prank. I'm rude, crude and blunt, but I respected people's feelings. Some of them. Naruto was a good kid, but he was treated like shit because of the demon locked within him. Ungrateful shits should be seeing him as a hero.

Well, actually. My respect and awe for the Kyuubi made me like Naruto a lot more despite his loud tendencies. Now we have two loud-mouths. Who were also competitive. Like Shikamaru says; 'They're troublesome, but we can't just abandon them.'

Very true in my opinion.

"Kuroki-chan. Why do you have that mark running down your cheek?" Naruto asked as he picked at the selection of our lunches. We all had large lunches except for Naruto, who we gladly shared with. But back to his question.

"I don't know, actually." I replied honestly, shrugging. "My parents say I've had it since birth."

"So it's a birth mark?" Shikamaru asked, seeming a little curious. Guess he must've been wondering about that too.

"Guess it is. I don't know how it got there."

"What about your scars, then?" Naruto asked, even more curious than the marking under my eye. I smirk-grinned, a lot of people were curious about them.

"There were caused by kunai and ninja stars that accidently got me in training."

"She has a lot more under that hoodie of hers." Kiba added, grinning. Boasting about my scars like he was the one with them. It made me grin how proud he was to be my friend.

"Cool!" Naruto exclaimed.

* * *

We were sitting in class, all five of us in the back row. It went from Choji was nearest to the window, to Shikamaru, then me, Kiba and Naruto. Choji ate whilst Shikamaru and I slept and Kiba and Naruto did something loud. Which got chalks thrown to their head. If only I was awake for them. Would've laughed in their faces.

In the academy, everything we did, I held back in. At my advanced level, they would've graduated me in no time and sent me on my way to a genin team. Which I didn't want, yet. In taijutsu, I applied more chakra to my weights, causing them to become abnormally more heavy that usual. It slowed my movements, but my forms were always good. Actually, I don't even want to go on explaining it all. All we need to know is that I was holding back, a lot. Well, except written tests.

Aonami was a demon if I didn't score the top marks for written tests. But they were easy compared to her tests from Satan's ass.

As the months past, my friendships with the boys improved, Naruto was doing a bunch of pranks, Kiba visited regularly, Shiruba grew, Itachi was on his way to being a Jounin, I improved on my skills, and Sasuke was being neglected majorly by his father.

I was nine when Sasuke said that he wanted to learn how to do the Great Fireball Jutsu in front of his father again. He failed the first time, his father becoming disappointed in his son. I would slap him if I was allowed.

I had learnt how to do kenjutsu and also enhance it with lightning ninjutsu, I still needed to work on them though. I've become overly advanced at taijutsu, as well learnt how to Body Flicker. Genjutsu, I've become kind of decent at, able to cast light genjutsu's on Kuroi, who was easily able to break them. Ninjutsu was inbetween Taijutsu and Genjutsu, but it I was much better at it than Genjutsu, whereas I wasn't as good at it as with Taijutsu.

Kuroi's been teaching me how to know when I'm in a genjutsu and to break them, rather than to cast them. It was good training for me.

A week had passed, and Sasuke was able to show his father the Fireball jutsu. I was happy for him, but my mind constantly wandered to the elder Uchiha, who had became an ANBU member half a year after he became a chunin. I couldn't help but sigh at the fact that he was already so advanced...and that I only had a year left before he destroyed his clan and the mentality of his brother. I looked to the bubbly Uchiha to sat beside me on the hill we sat at so much. I wanted to see him smile more, because after the massacre, it didn't exist anymore.

I poked his cheek. He flinched and leaned back, looking at me in mild shock. Then he frowned.

"Why do you always poke me?"

"Because I like to." I grinned at him, "And because you look cute when you're angry."

"What?!" I snickered as he abruptly stood with a large blush staining his cheeks, looking at me with incredulous eyes. I waved a dismissive hand in his direction. "Chill."

"I like it better when you smile."

"You do?" He looked at me weirdly.

"I do." I confirmed. "So smile more often, because you never know when your happiness will be pulled to a halt."

Sasuke seemed to contemplate my words, that was simple for a smart seven-year-old, right? He looked at me and nodded, grinning mischievously.

What's he up to?

"Only if you smile more often too. Kuroki-chan's smile is pretty." As if he said something rude, he gasped and quickly covering his mouth, another wave of pink splashing against his cheeks.

At first, I was a little surprised to know that the little Uchiha thought my smile, however rare, was pretty. Because Sasuke was more emotive, I allowed myself to form a small, genuine smile. "Cheeky. Fine."

I must've stunned the boy for a second, because he only gaped at me before giggling and smiling. Oh, my fuck. His giggle is so fucking cute.

* * *

In my new class, (the classes change every year), which is fairly old, considering it's August, consisted Haruno Sakura, Yamanaka Ino, Kiba, Naruto and Shikamaru. Choji was the only one separated from us, but we kept together at lunch. While I despised how fucking useless Sakura was in the first season, she was...alright in the second. Ino, well, she's loud. Loud females were something I couldn't handle well. They both obsessed over Sasuke.

They don't know him. Yet they crush over him anyways. I know him well, but I can only see him as something akin to a brother, much like the rest of my circle of friends. I'm an anti-feminist which means I dislike the general population of females. Sometimes I'm ashamed by being apart of the gender.

"Taidana-san." Someone called. I turned around to see Sakura walking towards me. What's going on?

"Mm?"

"Um...it's about Sasuke-kun." Sakura begin to blush and fidget.

Ah, fuck. Get out of it. Get out of it now, Kuroki.

"What?" What, in-fucking-deed, mouth! Why you got to go and let her elaborate?! Huh?! Despite the mental dispute, I kept my expression relaxed.

"Do you kn-"

"KUROKI-CHAN!"

I looked past Sakura to see Naruto sprinting towards me. He jumped over Sakura, and pulled his fist back to try and punch me when gravity pulled him down. I sighed as I grabbed his fist, absorbing the punch into my hand, which sadly, I couldn't feel.

"Eh?" Naruto sounded, confused by my block whilst he seemed to float in the air, if only for a second.

Before his body could connect with the ground, I shifted to face the open window on my right, still gripping Naruto's fist before literally throwing him outside the window and smacking into the tree trunk that was conveniently in my trajectory.

I yawned as I dusted my hands off.

"OW, KUROKI-CHAN!" Naruto yelled, rubbing his now red face at the base of the tree trunk he had smacked into. I smirk-grinned at him before turning back to Sakura, who seemed mind fucked as she looked at Naruto outside.

"W-What?!"

"Eh." She didn't bother asking her question, so I just walked off, hoping to find Kiba or someone who had food today. Aonami forced me into a test whilst I was sleep deprived. Not cool.

I grinned, Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba and Naruto sitting with me at the large tree we always sat at. Except we had a guest who was currently hiding behind the trunk.

"Where is he?! I swear he ran this way!" One random fangirl screeched. My fuck, they're seven. Seven. When I was seven. I trained. And my voice was a lot deeper than that dreadful sound.

"You five!" Ino pointed at us with a determined look. The other girls were afraid of Naruto apparently, so they didn't speak up. Shikamaru and I groaned, Choji froze up, Kiba growled lightly as Naruto gave a disgusted look at the mob of females.

"Have you seen Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked, pushing her way to the front, next to Ino. They looked at each other with heated glares. Females, man.

"No, but if I had, I wouldn't tell yous. So piss off before I have to hurt you." I threatened casually. I wasn't in the mood for them, and they could sense it, so they hurriedly retreated before anything 'bad' could happen. I resumed to eating.

"Kuroki is so cool!" Kiba and Naruto exclaimed in unison. They immediately glared at each other for speaking at the same time.

"Sasuke~. Come out now."

Slowly, Sasuke's head poked out from behind the trunk, although I could only see the spikey bit of his hair, as I was leaning against the middle of the trunk. When he came into my view, he looked embarrassed.

"...Thank you."

Naruto gasped in shock, pointing dramatically at the Uchiha.

"Did he just say 'thank you'?!"

"Shut up, Dobe." Sasuke frowned and folded his arms. I grinned.

"Anyways," I began before Naruto could retort, I glanced at Sasuke, "sit with us."

Sasuke looked at the members to see if there was any protest in their expressions.

"Troublesome, but I don't mind."

"Shikamaru says it's okay, so I do too."

"Sweet, another rival!"

"But Kuroki-chan~! Do we have to have teme here?"

I rolled my eyes, that comment by Naruto caused Sasuke to officially sit beside me and toss a smug look at Naruto.

"No complaining, or the next time you try to attack me, I will do more than throw you into a tree."

Naruto froze, and the group shifted their eyes towards him.

"You attacked Kuroki-chan?" Sasuke asked with controlled anger.

"How dare you attack my best friend!" Kiba exclaimed.

"But...she's my rival..." Naruto muttered, looking down as he fidgeted.

He looked up. "You all are!"

All of us took on mildly surprised expressions.

"You're all stronger than me, and I'm going to change that. Kuroki-chan is the strongest here," Naruto started, everyone nodding at Naruto's accurate announcement of my strength. It's only because I started earlier, and my mind is way advanced.

"So, I'm going to start with her! I'll find some way to finally land a hit on you!"

Sasuke's eyes widened and then he looked to me.

"You do that exercise with him too?"

I was about to reply before Kiba interrupted me.

"She does with me too. Can't get a hit on her though." Kiba lightly glared at me, whilst I grinned.

"Sasuke's the closest to being able to hit me, even if he hasn't yet. Compared to you two, it's like he's already hit me." I think my comment caused Sasuke to gloat and feel smug, smirking at Naruto and Kiba. A three-way rivalry. That's different.

* * *

Been going through my chapters, editing bits here and there.


	5. The Mission

On the grassy hill I usually met the Uchiha brothers at, only Itachi had come today. Itachi's birthday was a month and seven days from mine, he recently turned thirteen, making my physical age ten. It had been only a few weeks since he become ANBU Captain, and while I was happy for him, it also meant my time with him was close to a finish. I've never wanted to cry so badly, but my mind was too stubborn for it. It would also be a bitch to explain to him.

"It's been a while, Kuroki." Itachi nodded to me in acknowledgment. I felt rather depressed today. "It has." I agreed, staring at the swaying grass instead of the sky. The Uchiha knew me, and he was also fucking perceptive.

He dropped slowly to his knee in front of me, his eyes stared into mine, wanting to know what was wrong. For a boy who had the emotionless demeanour mastered, I could tell he was worried.

I smiled softly. "You're leaving Konoha soon, huh?" This question caught him off-guard, I knew. His mission to kill his entire clan excluding Sasuke was top-secret, yet I knew.

"How did you know?" He asked, his tone wary. Even if I was his friend, that didn't excuse me from the fact that I could very well be an enemy ninja. I lifted my head to look into his eyes. There was wariness, confusion...sadness. I sighed. "Ever since you met me, you've known I've been strange." I closed my eyes as a strong wind blew, my hand coming up to stop my hair from flicking into my face.

He patiently waited for me to elaborate. I opened my eyes once the wind died down, Itachi had been studying my face, it seemed. A small, sad smile graced my lips.

"I know things that I shouldn't, Itachi." His gaze on me hardened, but said nothing. "Do you trust me?"

The elder Uchiha remained silent for a few moments, and I had a feeling he was calculating everything in his head. For what seemed like minutes, he finally replied.

"I do."

I smiled. "Then please don't question me. It doesn't matter how I know, I'm not going to stop you."

Itachi's eyes widened a fraction. "You...aren't?"

I half grinned. "You're a pacifist. I know you. You're doing this for the sake of the village right?"

He shifted his gaze to the grass. "Yes."

I moved from my sitting position and reached out, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him to me in a gentle but firm hug.

"I will always support you, Itachi. Don't forget that."

The Uchiha prodigy slowly wrapped his arms around my waist, the fabric of my clothes being bunched up in his hands. He was suffering, and he could never show it. That small action showed me, confirmed that he was still human.

"Thank you, Kuroki-chan."

His voice was softer than usual, but it was understandable, given the mission he was going to fulfill. We slowly released each other, both of us staring into the other's eyes.

"I have one request though." I stated, my voice taking on a serious tone. It sounded so unlike me. Fucking gross.

The elder Uchiha simply nodded. "Of course."

"Do not send Sasuke on the path of avenger." I wouldn't stand for it. One, because Sasuke was like my little brother, and to see him transition from how I know him to how he was in the canon, I would probably fuck someone over and destroy a few people. Also, on a less serious note, his personality would piss me off more times than not. Itachi's eyes widened in surprise, before he relaxed his features and sported a smirk.

"You will always be there for Sasuke..." He commented softly, then looking at me with a nod. "I won't. Anything else?"

I half-grinned. "Give me three days to talk to Sasuke. I want to somehow prepare him for the worst." I frowned, thinking if I needed to say anything else. "Ah!" It occurred to me then. "Say goodbye to me before you leave."

He frowned after I mentioned having him come to see me. "I will be covered in my clan's blood, and I will be branded a traitor. If I visit you, the village could assume you had a part in it."

I waved a dismissive hand in his face. "Pscht. I don't give a fuck. I won't be seeing you for a few years, so you have to." I retorted. It may have been selfish, but Itachi would be the reason Sasuke would lose the smile I had grown accustomed to. He owed me a goodbye on the night.

He sighed. "I'm not going to convince you otherwise?"

"No."

Another sigh. "Fine. In three days, I will be branded as a traitor. Please look after Sasuke." It was my turn to be surprised. His eyes were pleading, and for his eyes to look like that, it was equivalent to a normal person on the floor, begging. I smiled affectionately, then made a face of disgust and scoffed.

"Of course I will. Why wouldn't I?" I smirk-grinned at him, and he smirked at me.

"Thank you...for everything."

"That's what I'm here for."

We laid on the hill beside each other, spending the rest of the day talking or just being silent whilst feeling pleasure of being in each other's presence. I had created such important bonds, and I would have to fight to make sure they were never severed.

* * *

It was early morning, the sun had barely risen before I did my every day routine. Stretches, a run, chakra exercises. It was something my parents drilled into me. Today, I was going to hang out with my little group of brats. Not at the Academy, as we didn't have school. Pscht, just fucking around. Of course we did, it's just that we skipped a lot. It took a lot of convincing to get Sasuke to skip with us. He's always trying to please his father, so of course he'd have perfect attendance. We've turned the Uchiha into a rebel!

"Should we really be out here, Kuroki-chan?" Sasuke asked, clinging to my arm as we walked through the streets. People didn't pay us much mind, except to glance at my noticeably darker appearance, but that was it. I ruffled Sasuke's hair with a grin.

"Ha! Teme's such a wimp!" Naruto exclaimed, pointing a finger at the little Uchiha with a triumphant expression. My eyes shifted to the blonde, my more threatening side coming out in defence to the Uchiha. Kiba's eyes widened, then nudged Naruto roughly.

"Idiot! Don't say that, Kuro-chan's been on edge since yesterday." Kiba told Naruto, in a volume he thought was a whisper, seeing as he made the whole whispering posture. Shikamaru rolled his eyes at the two whilst Choji slowly began to eat his food again. He stopped when I suddenly became defensive. Fuck, I hate the maternal instincts. Naruto shifted, looking uncomfortable. "S-Sorry..."

Then everything was good again, the atmosphere free from my dark mental waves. We continued walking, Sasuke still clinging onto my arm, but looking embarrassed and annoyed. I poked his cheek with my free hand. He looked up at me, knowing that whenever I poked him, I wanted him to smile.

"Every time you frown, I'll poke you. Got it?" I grinned at him. He 'hmph'd, but I saw the growing smile on his face. Today, tomorrow and the day after that. That was all I had. I had to make the days count.

Shikamaru, Choji and I sat on the park bench, watching Sasuke, Kiba and Naruto race around the park. Sasuke was ahead of them by quite a bit. Kiba was further than Naruto though, and both the dog and Uchiha had smug looks whenever they glanced at the furious blonde who was desperately trying to catch up.

"Dammit! I'll get you Teme, Kiba!" Naruto announced as he yelled and increased his speed. The two faster boys were mildly surprised by their rival's sudden increase in speed and determination. It only made them run faster. I snickered at their antics. Idiots.

"That looks fun," Choji commented pleasantly with a smile, grabbing some chips and placing them in his mouth.

"That looks troublesome." Shikamaru pointed out, rolling his eyes as he leaned back on the bench. We were shaded by a large tree, so we didn't need to worry about the sun blinding us whenever we faced towards the sky.

Shikamaru was rather interesting. Yeah, he was a lazy motherfucker, but then again, I could be too. He was also incredibly smart and perceptive, which made conversations easier, despite me being two years his senior. We had gotten on well, and he was able to go with the flow. In my old life, his kind of personality would definitely attract me.

Wait, what?!

What am I thinking?! Fuck. No way. Ew. Dammit, fuck my mind! No, wait! Hold on...! UGH!

I groaned as I slumped against the bench, placing a palm over my eyes because of how ashamed I was to be having such thoughts. I shifted my fingers to give my eye a view of Shikamaru. He was staring up into the leaves that protected us from the sun, but soon made eye contact with me. He turned his head to face me.

"Something wrong?" He asked lazily.

Choji leaned over to get a better view of me. "Tummy ache?"

Such a cute boy. I recovered from my mental drama and relaxed my body, almost looking like I had gone limp, I would, if it weren't for the small risings and fallings of my chest. I smirk-grinned his way.

"I'm fine, Choji. Thank you for worrying."

I saw Sasuke running over to me, stopping right in front of me and panting. He bent over, his hands on his on his knees to keep himself up as he tried to catch his breath. When he stood upright, one of the most amazing grins I have ever seen him make, was stuck on his sweaty, but amused face. It was so bright, like the sun itself was inside the Uchiha and radiating from him. Kiba and Naruto came running towards us a few seconds after I witnessed that grin/smile. I was so glad I got to spend three more days with the kind Sasuke.

* * *

Currently, I was up to being able to doing B-Rank jutsus with even a fair amount of chakra to spare. Sometimes even A-rank. But that would cause me to either drop from chakra exhaustion or fatigue me greatly. I probably would be too tired to stand. No, I haven't tried.

...

Maybe a few times. Shut the fuck up.

I had mastered taijutsu, well to the point that I was able to keep on par with and ex-ANBU Captain and sometimes even gain the upper hand, even if it was rare, and Kuroi was holding back somewhat. I still had no real life battle experience, so I wouldn't know against opponents other than Itachi and Kuroi. Kenjutsu was actually fun. Probably because it was sword training. My weights always became heavier each time I improved, and while at first discomforting, I got used to the weight rather quickly, then repeated the process. My speed was something I prided myself of, but I had never taken the full weight of my weights off. It's kind of intimidating to know that I could have the chance at being faster than sound.

Maybe I was a bit of a nut for training and improving, because Kuroi had stated that I should be at a upper chunin level. Awesome, yet it gave me the fear of knowing a ten year old has that capability. I always trained, and trained. And I was still an academy student. I wasn't going to let them find out that I should've graduated the moment I was enrolled. I wanted to be with the brats, and graduate with them.

I want the Kiba blades. So badly. They were one of the famous swords of the Seven Ninja Swordmen of the Mist. It was lightning-based, and it even enhanced the user's own capabilities, meaning I could execute a high-level jutsu and it wouldn't phase me at all. Kuroi talked about the blades often, to which I listened eagerly. They were my dreams swords.

For now, I had a longer-than-average katana with no guard. Its sheath was a simple black colour, the hilt matching. The blade was a shining black, made from some custom metal that was incredibly strong. The reason I'm talking about all this is because I had to get my mind off the Uchiha brothers. It was night, and I laid in the middle of our backyard, staring up at the stars and moon. It was beautiful, and sadly it reminded me of the night we all went star gazing. A great night, it was. The stars were always beautiful.

I shifted in my bed, trying to get comfortable. It was somewhere in the morning, when the sun was still hiding. My movements awoke Shiruba, who had been sleeping on my bed, as per usual. He scooted closer to me, nudging my face with his nose in a slightly worried manner. I smiled, what a smart loyal dog. I reached up and began to pet him, his head on the spare pillow of my bed. I had six, but it was a spare. Just in case.

"I'm sorry I woke you up, boy." I apologized, the moon's rays penetrating the glass of my window and illuminating my face. He whined, moving even more closer in an attempt to comfort me. I gave a weak attempt at a smile, closing my eyes. "My friend is going to leave soon...and he's going to do something bad before he goes." Shiruba stayed silent, patiently waiting for me to continue. Such a wise dog.

"He's going to make his brother, and another one of my closest friend, go through something horrible." That feeling of wanting to cry came over me again, but I would never cry. I couldn't. Wouldn't. Shiruba whimpered, moving to lick my face. I smiled as I sat up, crossing my legs under the thick blankets and proceeding to give my lovely boy a good rub. The dirtiness of that thought made me snicker lightly.

"Thank you, Shiruba." I thanked, soon wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him close. He didn't protest, just went with the flow. "You know it's Itachi and Sasuke, don't you?"

He barked softly, confirming my thoughts. I smiled. "You're a smart dog. I'm glad I have you."

I laid back on the bed, staring out the window, thinking. What is he doing right now? Is he training, mentally preparing? Maybe he was meeting with Danzo. One day, when I go on a killing spree, I will fucking kill him. He's such a dick.

I don't know when I fell asleep, when I woke up, the sunlight was greeting me warmly. I had a dream that Itachi stayed, and that Sasuke grew up being a flirt.

* * *

This time, Sasuke and I were going to have a meditation thing. It was the second day, and it was Saturday, so he didn't need to worry about skipping. Though he eventually got out of his shell yesterday. Which was a good thing. I grinned brightly at the memory of his adorable expression.

I took a shower, contemplating my life, new and old. Though I could clearly remember the plot of Naruto, I could barely remember my old life, including my old name. I guess I found Naruto to be more important, because the anime replayed from start to where ever it was up to before I died.

Drying my hair and putting my clothes on took about fifteen minutes. Even though I was older, I hadn't really changed much of my attire. I wore a dark grey hoodie, a mesh shirt underneath, my fingerless gloves, some baggy pants with the pants legs wrapped up in bandages, and my black ninja sandals. My hair grew, though my face was clear of any bangs. It still spiked up naturally, which mind fucked me. Although I have to question Naruto's hair, since his is just a mess of blonde spikes.

I walked down the stairs, Shiruba following me down. He was huge now, much bigger than me, but he somehow still fit on my bed every night. I walked into the kitchen, seeing Aonami making breakfast. Wait...that smell.

"Bacon!" I cheered, Shiruba barking in glee as I grinned and he wagged his tail. Aonami turned to us, halting in her making us breakfast. A bright smile formed on her face.

"Morning Kuroki-chan, Shiruba."

I smirk-grinned. "Morning. Is dad on a mission?" I asked, noticing I couldn't sense him in the house or around. Aonami nodded, resuming her cooking.

"He's on a mission for a week, so we'll be doing some genjutsu training in two days. I know you wanted to spend some time with little Sasuke-kun." She glanced at me with a strange look. Oh.

"What? No, it's not like that mum." I replied, moving to the table and taking a seat, Shiruba sitting on the floor beside me. "He's like a little brother to me."

She chuckled softly. "I'm not sure he sees you as a big sister, Kuroki-chan." A small, knowing smile formed. "Not anymore at least."

What the fuck was she on about? I'm sure Sasuke and the brats see me as their older sister, if not, their female best friend. It hadn't even occurred to me that one of them could like me. It just seemed, so weird.

"How do you know, mum?" I asked, giving her a skeptical look. She glanced me before shuffling around to get things cooking.

"At first, when he came over regularly, he looked up to you, I could see." She placed bacon strips on the frying pan, a loud sizzling and the heavenly smell of bacon filling the room. God, it smelled amazing. I was so distracted that I almost didn't hear Aonami finish her explanation. "But lately, he's been clinging to you like a love-sick puppy." She chuckled in amusement.

"He has been for a while. Clinging to the person they see as their elder sibling seems legitimate. I can't see how you think he's got a crush on me." I retorted. It's what I believed, and it's what the brats believed. Kiba didn't cling, but he was possessive. Naruto would always be willing to share with the other brats. Shikamaru and Choji weren't the type to cling or be possessive. They were laid-back. Easy-going.

"You're so cute, Kuroki-chan. You only focus on training and friendships than youthful love and crushes. But it would be so cute if you and the little Uchiha were a little couple." She chuckled in amusement, probably imagining a few scenes of Sasuke and I as a small couple. I shivered, it felt like incest really.

I jumped from roof to roof, travelling to the grassy hill. Other ninjas were around, jumping around or lazing about. I hadn't really paid them any attention, until I saw silver hair that spiked up like no other. There was Hatake Kakashi, in a tree reading the Icha Icha series. I was so surprised to see him that I was jumping straight into a wall. Luckily, using the chakra threads I placed on my feet and hands, I avoided damage by sticking to the wall. I let out a sigh, releasing my hold on the wall and landing on the concrete roof below. I gave a small grin, finding it funny how I became so distracted.

Glancing to the spot I saw Kakashi in, I was mildly surprised to see the Copy Ninja looking at me. Did I attract attention to myself? I did, didn't I? Motherfucker.

Deciding that it was time to break out staring competition, I smirk-grinned and waved at the Ex-ANBU. To my surprise, he waved back. Grinning to myself, I turned and pushed off, making my way over to the grassy hill.

I could see the small form of the younger Uchiha, sitting on the hill we always met at. As I came closer, he could see me, looking up and lighting up, waving to me enthusiastically. Landing just in front of him, I smiled. "Sorry I'm late. I met a famous ninja." The Uchiha looked genuinely interested.

"Oh, who?" He asked, jumping up. I looked to the village. Did he know of Kakashi? No, I don't think he did.

"You don't know him, he's not really known by children." I waved a hand dismissively. What a habit to have.

"How do you know him then?" He looked at me suspiciously.

I gave a small scoff. "I'm Taidana Kuroki."

That seemed to work, as his cheeks brightened to a pink, looking down and smiling. "Yeah, it makes sense." So cute.

We sat on the hill, side by side. Meditating. I was good at it, as I had been doing it since I was what? Three?

Sasuke, on the other hand, couldn't seem to relax. He fidgeted and seemed to be too preoccupied with his thoughts. We had been trying to do this for three hours already, and still he couldn't relax.

"I can meditate when I'm by myself..." Sasuke muttered, pouting cutely as he lightly glared at the grass in front of him. I smiled, ruffling his hair.

"It's fine. Everyone can do better than they're alone. It's just that you're not used to being around others whilst meditating, unlike me." I reassured him. Kuroi and Aonami often meditated with me. The little Uchiha blushed and nodding, then turning to me and smiling. "Then I'll try to meditate around other more often. I might do it around my father or mother."

My heart clenched. It hurt, and that wanting to cry sensation filled my mind. But even though I was dying on the inside, I retained a laid-back demeanour, smiling. "You do that. For now, why don't we play a game?" The Uchiha looked at me with expectancy.

"What game?"

* * *

"What if Kiba kissed you?" Sasuke asked with a mischievous grin. He was sitting across from me. We were playing 'What if?'.

"Punch the brat. No way he gets to touch these lips." I replied, giving a smug tone and an amused grin. Sasuke giggled. "My turn."

I had to think. Maybe I should ask him now. It could ease things if I handled it right. But then it could explode in my face. There was no way to know for sure. Fuck it. Let's do it.

"What if...someone killed off your clan?" I asked slowly, I didn't want to give off a cheerful tone, because that would've been way too disrespectful. His eyes widened at the question, then immediately, his face hardened.

"Kill them." He replied seriously.

I sighed. Typical. "What if they were close to you?" I stared at him, serious also. "What would you do then?" The little Uchiha seemed surprised by the question. He frowned thoughtfully, thinking. "I...I don't know..." He looked up at me.

"What would you do?"

"Trust them. What ever they did that for, they would have a good reason. I would support them, no matter."

Sasuke's eyes widened. "But it's your clan!"

I smiled softly, leaning back and letting my arms and hands keep me propped up. "I would be pissed, yeah. Emotions would cloud my thinking. But they're someone close to me, and I would trust their judgement. They wouldn't do it for a stupid reason, not like 'I wanted to test myself'. But for something that only a few people could know about." I looked to the sky. "That person close to me would be branding himself a traitor, killing my clan, and they would be doing it for a reason I could understand."

To be honest, I felt like that made no fucking sense. Being wise and all that was something I didn't specialise in. But when I looked back to the Uchiha, he was staring at me with some look of admiration in his eyes. "You're amazing, Kuroki-chan."

"Why, thank you. Be a good little pupil and follow my example, 'kay?" I smirk-grinned at him. He frowned and blushed. "I'm not your 'little pupil'." He pouted, causing me to snicker.

I could only hope that whatever I said would go through to him. "Think about it, okay? Think of the people close to you, and you can see that if they killed your clan, they would be doing it for a reason you weren't allowed to know." I commented, standing up and stretching. We'd been here all morning, and now it was mid-day. The sun was high and hot in the sky. Sasuke nodded, standing up and stretching too.

"Let's go find Naruto," I said, turning to him and grinning. He gave a look of annoyance. "We can see which of you is better in a spar."

Sasuke huffed and folded his arms. "Obviously I am."

"Let's go see him and find out then."

* * *

It's slow, yes. We'll get to the graduation soon.


	6. It's happening tonight?

It took me a while to figure out how to go about with this chapter. I hope yous like it.

* * *

Naruto was more than happy to hang out with us. When visiting his apartment, it was a bit run down, but he was able to make it seem more homely, despite having little furniture. There were ramen bowls everywhere. Sasuke made a face of disgust.

"You're such a slob, Dobe." Sasuke commented, inspecting the empty ramen bowls that probably hadn't been touched in a while.

"Hey, shut up, Teme!" Naruto's head popped out from the kitchen with a light glare. "If it weren't for Kuroki-chan, I would've slammed the door in your face!"

"I wouldn't be here by myself in the first place." Sasuke retorted, smug smirk taking his lips.

I snickered, their arguments were always interesting when I wasn't in a bad mood. I sat on the couch, crossing my legs on it, signifying I was getting comfortable. Looking around, I became distracted enough to almost not hear Naruto's loud voice.

"What _are_ you guys doing here?" Naruto questioned, looking from me to Sasuke. The little Uchiha huffed and folded his arms.

"Kuroki wants us two to spar. To see who's better." He answered, glancing to me, then returning his gaze on Naruto. "But we both know I'm the better one."

Naruto yelled in protest, telling us to wait here while he ran into the bathroom, coming out less than two minutes later hastily putting on zipping up the orange jumpsuit I was used to seeing him in. He gave us the thumbs up after putting his goggles and sandals on.

"All done! Let's go! I want to kick Teme's ass!" He announced, throwing open his door and stomping out, Sasuke and I following.

"Yeah, right, Dobe. You're not kicking my ass anytime soon." Sasuke smirked smugly.

I smirk-grinned, shoving my hands in my pockets as we made our way to the stairs. "Who knows, my little Sasuke. Maybe one day he'll kick your ass and," I leaned closer to Naruto, teasingly grinning back at the little Uchiha. "he'll become my favourite." Sasuke's eyes went wide with surprise, looking at me incredulously. Naruto laughed and fist-pumped.

"Then Kuroki-chan can teach me cool jutsus!"

"No!" Sasuke exclaimed, grabbing onto my arm and hugging it possessively. He glared warily at Naruto, who was stunned for the moment.

I was too, because I didn't expect him to have such a possessive reaction. Naruto went to my left and hugged my other arm, pulling and causing me to lean towards him.

"I need Kuroki-chan to teach me cool jutsus!" Naruto protested.

Sasuke reacted and pulled the arm in his, causing me to lean over to him. "Kuroki-chan can't teach you! I need her more than you do!"

Were...were they fighting over me? They...were. WHAT? I somehow forgot they were eight and children were possessive, even of their friends. They both pulled at my arms, throwing insults and reasons why they needed me more, making me sway from left to right. I had decided to let it continue, hoping they would give up after a minute or so.

It's been five minutes. And I was getting a headache.

I raised my arms, their smaller ones unable to keep a grip on mine and let my arms slip right through, not expecting the sudden action. They were both stunned, Naruto having stopped his insult mid-sentence. I sighed, glancing from Sasuke to Naruto.

"Fighting over me, how cute." I grinned at them. They seemed to realise what it was they were actually doing, and blushed madly in embarrassment. I snickered. Then turned to them, taking a step back. "Never do that again." I commented, my face immediately gone of amusement. "I got a headache and we wasted time. Next time you two do something like that again, I'll do the same thing I did to Kiba when he decided to steal my food to you." An innocent smile gracing my lips. Both Naruto and Sasuke paled, they remembered when I hung Kiba upside down, the rope worn and fragile. The rope broke, but his arms and legs were still tied so he couldn't do anything to avoid the lovely dog shit that awaited his doom. I grinned evilly at the memory.

He was mentally traumatized of dog shit for a full two weeks. That punishment was being nice compared to what I would have in mind for people whose lives I gave no shits about. "Understand?" I asked the two, my smile never faltering. They nodded their heads in unison, not wanting to go through my wrath.

"Good. Let's go." I turned and walked down the stairs, wanting to get out of this building before I start making craters. The two boys followed silently.

The sun was beginning its retreat for the moon to shine by the time Naruto and Sasuke finished their sparring match. I had spectated, and I noticed how much the Uchiha improved. He was better than Naruto originally, but it seemed like the blonde had become even worse, even though he was at the same skill level the last time I watched one of their sparring matches. Sasuke must be training hard. While I was strong, I wasn't the strongest. I know for a fact that the Rookie Nine will be improving rapidly.

Naruto and Sasuke panted as they laid across from each other, panting and sweating in the middle of the training field where Itachi and I first sparred. Bruises, scratches and dirt were all over them. I jumped down from the tree branch I was using as a seat, landing in front of them. I grinned. "Nice. You've really improved Sasuke."

The little Uchiha blushed and looked away from me, nodding. "Thank you..."

"Ahhh! What about me, Kuroki-chan?" Naruto groaned in annoyance, looking to me from his spot on the ground.

"You're horrible." I deadpanned, Naruto's eyes widened and sat up quickly, crossing his legs in the process.

"Whaaat?! But I worked so hard, dammit!" He threw his hands in the air, cursing who ever was causing his training to fail in improving his awesomeness. Sasuke sat up too, about to respond to Naruto, but noticed the sun was rapidly retracting its sunlight.

He gasped. "Oh, no! Dad's going to be so angry if I'm late!" He stood up, brushing the dirt off him and proceeding to run. Sasuke waved back at us. "See you tomorrow!" Then was gone from my sight. I looked back to Naruto, who was still looking in the direction Sasuke had run off to.

"Tired?" I asked, placing my hands in the pockets of my pants. The blonde looked up at me, grinning brightly.

"I'm a little hungry, but that's about it." He replied, scratching the back of his head as his stomach growled on que. I took a hand out of my pocket and stretched it out towards him. He grabbed my hand and I pulled him up, then we started walking out of the training grounds.

I remember Aonami mentioning that as long as I was home by ten, I was good. "Want me to teach you how to tree-climb?" I asked, glancing to Naruto. He looked at me.

"I already know how to climb tree, Kuroki-chan."

I shook my head. "No, not that kind. Here, let me show you." I offered, walking to a nearby tree. I glanced at it before sending chakra to my feet and form chakra threads that would enable me to walk up the tree trunk. I heard a gasp from Naruto's direction, and turned, gravity causing my hair to fall into an awkward position in my face, the loose parts of my clothes sagging a bit. I released the chakra threads, dropping down and landing silently on the ground. "That's what I meant." I commented, walking back over to the blonde.

"Whoa! Yeah! Yeah, I want to learn! Teach me Kuroki-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed, pleading eyes peering into my amused ones.

I nodded, turning and continuing to walk out of the training grounds. "Let's get ramen first, then we can train." The mention of ramen made Naruto fist pump and happily run to catch up with me, singing a song that only consisted of the word 'ramen'. I smirk-grinned. It was a good distraction from the impending death of the Uchiha clan that was bound to happen in two nights. It's killing me, knowing that I could stop Itachi from ruining his little brother's life,

I could stop him. I could stop the bloodshed, the suffering that Sasuke would be going through. He could grow up being a flirt, be free from the life of being an orphan. But I wouldn't. Itachi had good reason, and he was a pacifist. Convincing him otherwise would take a lot longer than what I would like. The only thing I could do; would do, was to simply support Itachi and the unknowing Sasuke. He'll be angry, once he realises our little 'What If' game was to let him think rationally about the oncoming event. I'm sorry. Really.

* * *

After eating ramen at Ichiraku's, we went back to the training grounds and were about to begin on tree-climbing, but the trees weren't big enough for training. Nightfall had risen by the time we got to the ramen store. Was it a restaurant? I had no idea.

Anyways, we had decided that the trees in the training ground were too small, and went to look for larger ones. We couldn't find any...and Naruto had the bright idea to go outside the village because there was sure to be more. Yes, there were larger ones, but being outside the village would be too dangerous.

"Come on, Kuroki-chan! We won't be out that far, and with yours and my skill, we'd be fine if bandits attacked us." Naruto boasted, a confident expression on his face as he gave me the thumbs up. I immediately smacked him upside the head.

"Ow~! What was that for, Kuroki-chan?" He asked, rubbing his head whilst pouting at me. I gave him a 'are-you-fucking-kidding-me' look. He didn't seem to get it.

I sighed. "Naruto, I may be good, but who knows what could happen? And you're horrible at taijutsu, so you'd get beaten up before I could tell you to stop." The blonde was about to retort but I intercepted. "Do you want me to protect you?" It was a simple question. And whilst most would just be annoyed and say 'no', Naruto was the type who didn't want to be protected, he wanted to protect, so when his face gained a frown and he took a breath in, I knew he was going to yell and say something along 'I want to protect you!'.

"No! If anyone's going to be protecting anyone, it's going to be me!" Naruto exclaimed, jutting a thumb to his chest to further point out himself. I scoffed.

"How could you protect me without getting yourself killed? You can't even touch me." I retorted, riling him up made him more determined, but I wanted to make a point that being outside the village at night, even during the day, can be dangerous if we're not careful.

Naruto looked down, his shoulders shaking with frustration. He knew I was right, he couldn't protect me unless he decided to become my shield whenever someone through a kunai or punch. I wasn't letting that happen anytime soon.

I sighed, looking to a nearby tree. "How about we work on your taijutsu instead? We can work on tree-climbing tomorrow with Sasuke." I looked back to the blonde, whose head snapped up at the offer. Something was twinkling in his eye. What a strange look.

"Really?"

"Really. Maybe then you could kick Sasuke's ass." I smirk-grinned at him, and he grinned brightly back.

"Alright, let's go!" He cheered, following me as I walked towards the nearest training ground.

"Ready?" I asked, standing across from Naruto in a training ground not far from where we were when arguing about leaving the village. It only took us five minutes to get here, and with the time it took for us to eat, attempt to find larger trees and the little confrontation, we only had an hour to train. Naruto nodded, moving into a poor fighting stance, then charging right at me.

He had his fist ready for a punch to my face, and I hadn't moved until he was in range to hit me. I simply moved my head and dodged his punch with ease, then grabbed his arm with my right hand and used my left hand to grab the fabric around his stomach, lifting the stunned blonde up and shifting to throw him over. I let go of him once he was on the other side of me, back flat against the ground. He groaned, rubbing his butt as he sat up.

"Ow~!" Naruto moaned, glaring lightly at me. I stared at him.

"Up."

"In a minute, my butt hurts." He waved a dismissive hand toward me. I promptly walked up and literally kicked his pained ass. The blonde faceplanted into the dirt in front of him. I snickered, that side being more funnier than I thought.

This is going to be a long hour.

"Dammit, Naruto! You move your left foot here, your fight foot there, your arms are to be close to your body and you have to relax!" I ordered, moving Naruto's limbs to where I wanted them. I ignored the blush he wore because of the intimate contact, I was too pissed off with how horrible he was at forms. I took a step back and gave an approving look of the blonde who stayed frozen in the position I placed him in, not wanting to piss me off even more.

"Kuroki-chan, I feel weird." Naruto commented, frowning at his form, but still not moving. I sighed.

"You're not used to stances, because you're an idiot and just charge right in. But we'll have to stop, I have to be home in fifteen minutes." I glanced to the sky, tonight was beautiful too, but I was too preoccupied with the idiot in front of me. Naruto dropped the stance and rubbed the back of his head, giving me a wide grin.

"Thanks, Kuroki-chan! You've really helped me a lot!" He gave me the thumbs up. I tch'd with a slight grin. Giving a lazed wave as I bent my knees to jump onto one of the nearby branches.

"I'll see you tomorrow." He waved as I jumped up and began to make my way to my house through the trees and roofs. Thirteen minutes.

I landed on the first-story roof of my house, my window accessible by landing on it. I opened the window sill, making my way through and jumping over my bed. I didn't want dirt all over my covers. My feet were silent as they touched the carpet of my room, and I yawned lightly, proceeding to take off my shoes and clothes. Time for a shower, then bed.

Shiruba must've heard me, because as soon as I opened my door in nothing but a towel, I was tackled to the ground by the huge dog. "Hahaha! Shiruba, get off me you big goof, I have to take a shower!" I grinned as he licked my face a couple more times before obediently getting off me. I stood up, wiping the saliva off my face. I'm so glad he lets me clean his teeth and tongue. I gave Shiruba a small pat before making my way to the bathroom. "Go tell mum I'm in the shower." I told the canine, who barked in affirmation and made his way down the stairs. Shutting the door and locking it, I threw the towel off my form and over the rack which kept the shower curtains up. I walked in, turning the shower on hot and beginning to get lost in my thoughts.

"Welcome home, Kuroki-chan." My mother greeted, seeing me walk down the stairs with a towel in my hand and drying off my hair. I glanced at her and waved, already on my way to the kitchen. "How was your day with little Sasuke-kun?" Aonami had that tone like when a friend knows who your crush is and asks how they are. I rolled my eyes, opening the fridge to find bacon. I mentally cheered as I grabbed the plate and some drink equivalent to soft drinks in my world, using my feet to shut the fridge door and walking over to the bench.

"It was fine, we talked, and then we went to see Naruto." I took off the plastic from the bowl and placed it in the microwave. It still mind fucked me how this world has microwaves. After setting it to one minute and turning it on, I looked back to see Aonami leaning against the doorframe to the kitchen from the hallway, a mischievous smile gracing her lips. "I made them two spar. Then he went home whilst I trained Naruto in some taijutsu." I grinned in triumph when the blasted woman pouted in disappointment. It was too soon to grin, because her head popped up and her disappointed expression gone, a gasp escaping her and a hopeful look on her face.

"What about Shika-kun? You two are such an interesting pair!"

What?

Oh, god, no. I looked away, stopping the microwave and taking out the now warm, amazing, awesome bacon. I almost mentally went to heaven. Then Aonami had to ruin everything and ask, "Well? Is Shika-kun more your type?"

I turned and gave her a disgusted look, but she paid it no mind and continued to look at me with shining emerald orbs. Eh... "He'd be my type if I had one, but mum...I'm ten."

Aonami hand a hand dismissively and scoffed. Did I...get that from her?

"I met your father when I was eight, look where we are now. I'm married to him, we have a wonderful house with a huge library, he's bringing the money in and we have you." She smiled lovingly at me, her eyes filled with affection. I looked down, a small smile on my face.

"I'm glad I was born into this family." I admitted. I really was. Who knows, I could've been born as Orochimaru's daughter, or even worse; son. Aonami and Kuroi were great parents, even though Kuroi likes to not hold back in any kind of fight and Aonami has a thing with coupling me up with my friends. Aonami walked up to me, bending down and hugging me gently. I wrapped my free hand as far as my little hand could around her back. A few moments later, she let go, and I dropped my hand to my side.

"Do some exercises after you've finished eating, I don't want you to sleep right after having bacon." She told me with a mock stern look. I smirk-grinned and nodded, grabbing my drink and heading upstairs with my amazing bacon and drink. Shiruba barked, giving me a visual on him come out of my room and greet me with a pleasant bark. I grinned at him as I came closer, him walking around me until I got to the entrance of my room and walked in. He followed and pulled on the rope I tied around the doorknob, causing the door to shut behind me. It was easier than me closing it whenever we got food. I placed the plate of bacon on the bed, climbing on top and taking a seat in the corner of the wall and bed, crossing my legs in the process. Shiruba carefully climbed up, taking a seat beside me on the bed, I smiled and began to pet him. "Let's eat."

* * *

I woke up sometime in the morning when the sun was still hiding, the moon out and giving me its light. I was capable of vivid dreams, meaning I could feel any contact an object or person did to me. I couldn't feel pain, just a dull sensation that only ever became a little stronger with the amount of pain I should feel. I placed my arms over my eyes. Ten long, yet short years in this world. My body is ten, but my mind is twenty five. Somehow, even though I've matured since I first came here, I felt like I was still fifteen, still nothing but an adolescent. Annoyingly, I was even less. A fucking child. Sure, it was fun learning how to control chakra and be taught a more advanced hand-to-hand combat style, and even use lightning jutsu. But when I had died, I accepted death. Welcomed it. I died because I protected the one person I truly cared about in that world. What would they think? Knowing I was in an anime world that was no longer an anime to me. It was now reality. Do you miss me? Did you ever care about me? Or did you die not long after I fucking saved you because you were a fucking idiot?

Crying came easily for me this time. It wasn't that snot-filled sob-outs that I never; _never_, do. But...it was the silent type, tears running down my cheeks whilst I stayed silent. I missed my old life, more so the person who was in it. I cried because I loved them, I cried because I would never see them again, I cried because it had taken me so long to finally remember them. I cried...because now I was going to lose another person who I cared about, even if only mentally. Why did I become close with the Uchihas? Why? I could've saved myself from the pain, the hurt of knowing one of my closest friends was going to kill his whole family. I mentioned this before, didn't I? I did, but it still tore me apart. I...don't regret becoming close with Itachi and Sasuke, I don't regret loving them. Itachi was stoic, but he loved his brother more than anything, I loved that about him. Sasuke was such a cute kid, so kind, so ambitious, so naive...will you still want to kill him when it happens, Sasuke? Will you ignore everything I've tried to do to stop you from making the same choices you did in the anime?

No one would know of this. No one. I will never cry in front of a person, not even Shiruba knew. He was fast asleep beside me, oblivious to the pain I felt. I better not develop depression and anxiety in this world, I would hate to have that whilst a ninja. Ha, I'm still the same, no matter what body I'm in, what age. But I am Taidana Kuroki, that is me. My old name is nothing but the past, my old friends are nothing but the past. The moonlight was always able to send me into a dreamless sleep, staring at its beauty for who know long, then waking up at dawn every morning. Or was it dusk? I should probably look into that. I yawned, sitting up and glancing out the window. You would not believe the surprise that overwhelmed me when I saw Itachi kneeling on the roof outside my window, staring straight into my eyes. I almost punched the glass because of how utterly surprised I was. "Ah, fuck." I placed a hand over my eyes and fell back onto the bed, Shiruba waking at the movement and Itachi sliding my window open.

"I should punch you for scaring the fuck out of me like that." I commented, lightly frowning at the Uchiha who now sat on my window sill with a serious expression. No...ah, fuck there's bad news with this.

"I apologize, Kuroki-chan. I didn't mean to scare you, but I had to tell you immediately." His voice was so serious, and I turned covering my face with my eyes with my hands.

"What? It's something bad, isn't it?" I glanced at the Uchiha, who nodded solemnly.

"I...have to do it tonight. Danzo had reached his limit." I scowled at the name, sitting up and glaring at Itachi at a speed that should've given me a headache for five minutes.

"Fuck Danzo and his patience! We agreed three days! Three! I-" Before I could finish my rant, Itachi had placed his hands on either side of my neck, pulling me closer and resting his forehead against mine. I lightly grabbed his wrists and looked up at him. "Itachi...?"

His eyes were pained, solemn and sorrowful. I could see how much it tormented him. "Kuroki...I don't want to do it tonight either. But I have to...for the village." I looked down. I wasn't fully mentally prepared yet. Tonight. That's only like eight hours. Eight. That feeling of wanting to cry came over me, but unlike a few hours ago, I couldn't. It was a defence my mind forced my body to whenever someone was around and I upset. "Kuroki-chan. Look at me." I didn't even know I had my eyes closed, so I obeyed him, opening my eyes and looking up at him. They had a kind of determination in them now.

"I love you."

I stared at him. What? OH! I gave a smirk-grin, looking at his chest instead of his face. "Jeez, Itachi. You had my heart stop for a second there." I looked up at him again, he still had his hands on my neck and his forehead to mine. "I love you too...but there's something else, isn't there?" He smirked in the slightest.

"So smart. Yes, there's something I want you to do." Finally, we released our holds on each other. I stared at him expectantly.

"Take care of yourself."

Hold up. What? That was it? Fucking seriously? There's nothing else?! What?! By how Itachi opened his mouth for say something else, my face was showing my annoyed confusion.

"You always look after Sasuke and the others. You're their big sister, and you care for them more than you care for yourself." I looked down. Yes, I cared more about them than I did myself. It's just how I worked when I created friendships.

"But you're my little sister. I won't be able to take care of you, but I want you to promise me you'll take care of yourself more." I sighed. He just wanted me to take care of myself? I could do that, but it seemed like such a small thing compared to everything else.

I glanced at him. "Fine. Promise me you will too, then." His smirk stretched a bit and he nodded. I'd almost forgotten Shiruba was here until he made a move on the bed, standing up and making his way over to Itachi. The Uchiha began to pet Shiruba.

"Look after Kuroki-chan too, okay Shiruba?"

Shiruba barked. I groaned lightly, scratching my head. I probably looked like shit right about now. "Okay, shoo, Uchiha. I need to get ready for today." I shoo'd him with my hands, Shiruba removing himself from Itachi's hands and jumping off the bed and pulling open my wardrobe with the rope I attached to it. God, I loved this dog. Itachi smirked.

"Goodbye."

"Just go already, before I give a show of tears." And with that comment, the Uchiha was gone in an instant. Still a boy after all. I turned to Shiruba, grinning at him then taking the blankets off myself and getting off the bed. "I better make this day count."

* * *

Alright, there's the end of chapter 6. I need reviews, guys. I'd love to know your opinions about the story, what you hope for in the future. I'll be making subtle changes in each chapter to fix anything I dislike or some grammar errors.


	7. Confessions and a Final Wish

Hey, there. I finally finished it. It was longer than I thought, and we're still not up to where Itachi kills the clan yet. I was planning to with this one, but...anyways! I appreciate the favourites, the followers and all that. But I would really love reviews. I'm serious. A lot of you are ghost readers, I admit, I ghost read too, but it would really help me with your opinions on each chapter. If you liked it, hated it, or you give me some constructive critisicm. Flames won't do much for me, except increase the review numbers. Bah! Just read the story!

* * *

Meditation was horrible. I couldn't relax properly, my mind was in chaos. My chakra control exercises weren't much better. I was annoyed, and pissed off that I couldn't concentrate at all. The massacre hadn't even happened, so what the fuck would happen if I were in the real world, and I just saw one of my closest friends die? I've trained my body, but I've got a long way until I've trained my mind properly. Would it be better if I turned off my emotions and become like an ANBU? An emotionless killer that was always able to get the job done? Right now, it seemed like the best thing I could do.

"Kuroki-chan, you seem restless." Aonami commented, looking at me worriedly whilst I stared outside the window with a slight scowl. I glanced back at her, then looked to Shiruba, who sat beside me, looking up at me with worried eyes. I sighed. If only you could talk, Shiruba.

I shook my head, forming an uneasy smile that was meant to be reassuring. Obviously it didn't work, because I felt worse and Aonami frowned. I dropped the smile and made an annoyed expression. "I have a bad feeling about tonight, it's been scratching into my brain all morning." That was all I was going to say. All I could say. Aonami was silent, probably contemplating my words. She regained eye contact with me, her emerald eyes shining with something I didn't know.

"Kuroki-chan, are you sure?" She asked warily. Why was she being wary? I nodded, and she hm'd, walking to the fridge and opening the door, grabbing out juice. "I trust you, Kuroki-chan. Just don't do anything you'll regret, okay?" She smiled at me lovingly, pouring the juice into a glass and passing it to me. I grabbed it and thanked her. She really was a great parent.

I smiled at her, drinking the juice and giving the glass back. "I hope I won't do anything I'll regret. I'm sorry if I make you worry by anything I do." Aonami nodded, taking the glass and walking to the sink. I stood up, petting Shiruba as I made my way to the front door. "I'll probably be back late. Bye!" I waved to Aonami and Shiruba who had seen me out. I turned and took a deep breath in. You're going to hate me, aren't you Sasuke?

It was probably six in the morning by the time I had been able to relax and meditate on the grassy hill of Uchiha memories, and if you're wondering why my dear mother Aonami would be awake at five in the morning, it's because she has this strange habit of waking up at the same time as the first person who woke up in the mornings. Normally Kuroi was up around four-thirty in the morning, and that's when Aonami was up. But he wasn't here, luckily. So Aonami woke up at the same time I did. It's really strange, and I've never gone into her room to see if she was awake whenever I woke up sometime in the morning when the sun was still hiding from the moon. I decided to work on the high-frequency vibrations of my chakra, as I haven't been training that much this week. I had more to worry about.

"Kuroki-chan?" The familiar voice of Sasuke sounded in my ears. I opened my eyes and looked to him. He was wide-eyed and cute, full of curiosity and kindness. It was so hard to keep myself together, I wanted to jump up and tackle him, hug him tightly whilst I cried because of how sorry I was for everything that was going to happen in only a few hours. But I simply smiled at him. I was not going to break down, not yet.

Everything weighed so heavily on me, and I didn't know just how much it was until I looked at Sasuke for the first time after hearing the news from Itachi. God, I wanted to kill Danzo. Rip him the fuck apart.

"Hey, Sasuke. What's up? You're up early." He sat down beside me, rather closely, but I didn't mind. I began to pet him like an affectionate mother or sister as he leaned against me.

"Itachi-nii woke me up, saying that you'd be waiting for me earlier than usual today." He shifted his head to look up at me. I looked back, smiling softly.

"I was fine with waiting a few hours. I've been slacking a little bit in my training." I told truthfully, or half-truthfully. I wanted to see him as soon as possible. Fuck, thank you Itachi. Thank you. I hadn't noticed Sasuke had been staring until he said something.

"Kuroki-chan...you seem sad. Did I do something wrong?" Sasuke asked, a worried and slightly scared expression on him. My eyes widened a fraction, then I wrapped the arms closest to him around his neck, pulling him closer. I shook my head gently.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke. I've just been having a bad feeling all morning...I feel really upset because of it." I feel like such a whimp. The whole week had made me into a overly sensitive big sister. I thought I had prepared myself for over two years, already, but apparently you can never be ready for the grief and sorrow you know you're going to feel at its worst when you know it's going to happen. Sometimes, I wished I was oblivious to the Uchiha Massacre. But that's selfish of me, and I hated a bit of myself for thinking it.

Sasuke wrapped his arms around my waist, resting his head against my shoulder. "I don't want you to be feeling upset. I like the happy Kuroki better." He said so quietly it was almost a whisper. I smiled, poking him in the cheek, which made him loosen his grip on me and pull back, eyes widening in surprise.

"I like the Sasuke who smiles more than I like myself when I'm happy." I smirk-grinned, ruffling his hair which caused him to fully let go of me and attempt to stop me from messing up his hair. I snickered lightly, removing my hand and seeing my handy work. "You have birds nest hair." I grinned at him, he frowned lightly at me then began to fix his hair. He looked down and blushed lightly.

"Are you better now?" He asked shyly. Awh! He's cute an adorable child. I laughed and wrapped my arms around him waist and pulled him into the best bear hug this ten-year-old body could do.

He tried to pry himself off me at first, but settled down after figuring out that I wasn't going to let go soon. "You're such an amazing boy, Sasuke. Can I ask you something?" Sooner than I thought, I grabbed his shoulders and pushed him away from me so I could see his face. He was still blushing lightly, nodding whilst looking to the side.

"Did you think about what you would do if someone close to you killed your clan?" I frowned lightly when his face took on a serious expression. I hope that means he thought all night about it.

"I did."

I frowned a little. "And?"

Sasuke looked at the grass with some kind of determined look in them. "I would...try to calm myself down so I could think properly. Then, I would find out why they killed my clan."

"What if they told you for a reason that seemed suspicious or something?" I asked, keeping an eye on his expression. It didn't change much.

"I would kill them." He looked at me with a stern expression.

I sighed. "Sasuke, what if what they were telling you was a lie, just to provoke you or something similar? What if their reason for killing your clan was for something greater, despite the horrible act?" I glanced at him, and he seemed genuinely confused. I laid back, using my arms as a makeshift pillow.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke. I'm on edge." When I looked from the sky to him, he was moving to lay next to me. I turned to my side, so we were staring at each other, there was a small blush on his face.

When I made no sign of averting my eyes, he looked down, probably feeling a little uncomfortable under my stare. "Kuroki-chan...is something going to happen to my clan?"

I felt my breath hitch, and my eyes widened slightly. He seemed to catch my subtle actions, and his own eyes widened and he sat up. "Kuroki-chan! What's going to happen to my family?!" He asked urgently, gripping my shoulders and lightly shaking me. I grabbed his arms and sat up, looking at him solemnly.

"I have to warn father!" He turned to run off, but my grip on his arms tightened, not allowing him to leave. He turned back with a pleading look in his eyes. My heart clenched. I forgot how smart he was, even as a child.

"I can't let you do that, Sasuke." I said softly, looking down with a shameful expression. He leaned closer, his arms still being held captive by mine.

"Why?! Kuroki-chan, are you the one who's going to kill my family?!" My head snapped up at him, shock coursed through me as I saw the betrayal, the hurt cloud his onyx eyes. My shock soon changed to mild anger.

"No! I would never do such a thing! I love you, Sasuke!" I blurted out with a raised voice. God, that must've sounded like a romantic confession. I want to slap myself ten times over for that one. But currently, my hands were preoccupied with holding Sasuke's.

His face flushed, a dark shade of red taking his face. Yeah, it sounded like I just confessed to a fucking eight-year-old! Are you fucking kidding me?! I should explain myself, yeah, that would work. What Aonami was saying about Sasuke crushing on me was just a little joke, there's no way. None. At all. Why am I trying to convince myself of this? Oh, fuck. No. No way. It's fine, Kuroki. It's fine! Everything is fine, it's just a misunderstanding, I'm sure Sasuke would be smart enough to know I didn't mean it like that. Right?

"I...I..." Sasuke seemed to have forgotten all about our little talk with his clan and was currently burning holes into the ground with the complexion of a red apple. I really hope I wasn't blushing. That would make my explanation even harder for him to buy. "Kuroki-chan..." I feel like dying all over again. Twice.

"Uh, um...What I mean is...I, er...what? Shit..." Oh, my fuck. I have no idea what to say. This is so awkward. I let go of Sasuke's arms and covered my face with my hands in shame. How did it come to this?

"I...love you...too, Kuroki-chan..." What? What?! WHAT?! I looked up at him through my fingers, shock was probably what he saw. I feel like my stomach dropped. He was looking at the grass, fidgeting with his hands.

"What...?" I asked, verbally this time. I don't think I had registered it properly yet. His eyes shifted to me, and his blush deepened, if that was even possible with how red he was. Oh, my fuck. I probably look exactly like him. Probably even worse!

He seemed to gain some confidence after swallowing and taking a deep breath, staring at me with determined eyes, again. "I love you too, Kuroki-chan." I made some kind of groaning sound and proceeded to hide my face again, but the damned Uchiha brat grabbed my wrists and had his face so closely to mine. What is this?!

"I always thought...you loved Kiba." He admitted, looking down again. I was breathing quickly now. What am I meant to do in this situation?! I don't know what to do. Oh, god. I'm a pedophile. I'm a fucking-wait. Hold the fuck up a minute here. I'm...ten in this body. While yes, my mind is of an adult, but that wasn't by choice...I'm only two years Sasuke's senior...so by normal standards, this should be fine...right? I groaned.

"I am so confused right now. Completely and utterly." I voiced out loud, looking towards whatever wasn't Sasuke. My cheeks are warm. This is not the situation I expected to be in. Sasuke let our hands fall closer to the ground, instead of keeping them up for who knows how long, but he never let go of me. I could rip my arms from him, but that doesn't seem like the best thing to do. Un-expectantly, he rested his forehead against mine. I looked towards him, and he was gazing at me, his blush dying down slightly. Itachi and Sasuke were indeed brothers if they do this in the same day. But...unlike Itachi's family-loving aura, Sasuke's was one of...romance...My Jesus, he's eight. I'm physically ten. We're physically too young for love! And he's always mentally too young for love.

"You're going to hate me after tonight." I commented, closing my eyes to stop myself from having to look at his reaction. "I wanted to stop him...stop him from destroying everything you love. But I couldn't. He has reasons for doing it, reasons that are much bigger than you and I...reasons you probably wouldn't understand until you were fifteen." I could feel the tears filling my closed eyes and running down my cheeks. I wanted to sob, but I wouldn't. Instead, I kept talking, my voice cracking and breaking in some parts. "You mean so much to me...and I feel so selfish from trying to prepare you for the worst. Trying to help you from becoming a revenge-filled person who cared nothing of others. I don't even know if it'll work...you'll hate me...I know you will. But even if you do, I don't want you to leave me...leave everything that meant something to you."

I sniffed, slowly opening my tear-ridden eyes to see the little Uchiha's expression. He never moved his forehead from mine, never let go of me. If anything, his grip became tighter. When I looked at him, I was surprised to see he was crying too, with wide eyes. "You were suffering...while I was oblivious to it all?" He asked, which surprised me. I didn't care about myself at the moment. All I cared about was the Uchiha that was right in front of me. "I'm so sorry, Kuroki-chan...please...please tell me what's going to happen tonight...I want to know...I need to know." He let go of my wrist and removed his forehead from mine, hastily wiping his tears from his face. I did the same, using the cuffs of my hoodie as my tissue. So much for not crying in front of anyone. I glanced at him.

"I'll tell you...if you promise not to do anything stupid...and never tell anyone that I cried." He looked a little surprised by my conditions, but smiled softly and nodded. I smiled back, feeling something tugging at me within my mind, but ignored it. "Alright...if you run off, I'll stop you."

* * *

"Itachi-nii...is going to kill everyone...including mother and father?" Sasuke asked, shocked mostly by that little fact most of all. I had yet to tell him of Itachi's reasons, a small part of me believed it was like betraying him for telling his little brother. Sasuke frowned, and moved to stand up. "I have to tell father." I growled lightly and grabbed onto his wrist, pulling him back down. He yelped and fell back.

"Idiot, I told you to do nothing stupid!" I chided, obviously annoyed now. He pouted.

"Warning my family is not stupid! They're going to die!" He retorted, exclaiming it rather loudly. I scowled, slapping my hand over his mouth and leaning intimidatingly close to him.

"Yelling out that your family is going to die, is." I commented, probably looking like I wanted to smack some sense into him. He seemed to realize his mistake and averted his eyes, blushing in embarrassment. Has he always blushed this much as a child? I let go of him, slowly. Just in case he decided to jump up and run off on me. Pscht. He's fast, yeah, but I have had more training currently, so it'd be rather easy to catch up with him. He glared at the ground. God, I hope telling an eight-year-old was the right thing to do. Ew...by the sound of it, it sounds like it was the most idiotic thing I've ever done.

Sasuke looked to me. "Why is he going to kill everyone in my clan?" He asked, I could hear the anger in his tone. His hands were balled into fists, and he was shaking lightly. My gaze went to the sky. It really was a beautiful day. The birds chirping pleasantly, the sun wasn't giving us a heat stroke, the sky was bright and the clouds complimented it. If I didn't know what was going to happen tonight, I would've been satisfied to cloud watching with Shikamaru.

How much should I say? How much would I say? Everything's so confusing. I sighed, then began to focus on a slowly-passing cloud that was overhead. I could feel Sasuke's eyes burning a hole into me. Goddamn.

"The Uchiha clan is beginning to overthrow Konoha, and knowing full well that coup d'etat would result in another ninja-world war, Itachi began to spy on the Uchiha's, passing information onto the Third Hokage and the elders." That should be a good start, right? Oh, god, how is this going to affect the future? How is Sasuke going to turn out?! Sasuke seemed to be thinking.

"Why?"

"He's a pacifist."

"A...what?" Sasuke asked, confused. I forgot I was talking to an eight-year-old. This is so fucking annoying.

"A pacifist...is a person who wants peace, and not wars." I hope that's what it means. It's been a long time since I've even heard the word. Sasuke got it though, and made a small 'oh' sound. Something clicked in my mind.

Itachi will want to be killed by Sasuke. That's how he is. I frowned, but he promised me he wouldn't send Sasuke on the path of avenger...were you lying to me, Itachi? No, he trusts me with the fact that I will do something to prevent Sasuke from going all avenger. The little Uchiha will Itachi right after he's killed everyone, and I hope so much that Sasuke won't swear an oath of vengeance. Maybe Itachi will confirm everything I've said to Sasuke, then ask him to grow stronger, or something. I sighed like I was an adult, frustrated with mental problems. I was, but it must've looked weird for a ten-year-old to do that. "Kuroki-chan?" I lifted my head to look at Sasuke, who seemed to be getting restless. "Tell me more."

I nodded, cracking my neck and leaning forward. I crossed my legs and got more comfortable. "There's this one elder. His name is Danzo Shimura. He's the one who made Itachi choose between the clan and...you." I had a deep scowl on my face, anger filling my mind and spreading throughout my body. I wanted so badly to hurt him. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths. After a few moments, I finally calmed and opened my eyes, Sasuke's eyes were still wide with the fact that Itachi chose him over his clan. "Anyways," I started, "You know how your father is paying more attention to you?" I asked, Sasuke nodding silently.

"Well, that's because he and the rest of the clan lost hope in Itachi. The Third Hokage had been trying to convince the Uchiha's to stand down, so there wouldn't be any conflict, but it didn't work." I began to pull out the grass in front of me. "So Danzo and the Konoha Council ordered Itachi to kill everyone in the clan against the Third's wishes." Sasuke gasped at this new information. "Three days ago, when you didn't come that day here, Itachi did. I knew he was leaving Konoha soon, and I convinced him to give me three days so I could prepare you for the worst. I didn't want you to be in such pain, but I'm so selfish. I wanted to respect Itachi's choices, and I wanted to keep you in the dark, but prepare you. I'm sorry." I felt horrible, really. Yeah, I'm not perfect, I have faults, but I still felt like such an idiot.

"Idiot." Sasuke commented. I frowned.

"What, brat?" I asked, kind of. It was more of a challenge for him to repeat that little insult. But my harmless hostility was wiped when I saw the little Uchiha's smile. His eyes were shining with something I fear was affection, but they were also brimmed with tears that threatened to fall at any moment. He suddenly moved closer, now on his knees so I had to look up at him, I was surprised when his arms wrapped around my neck and pulled me to his little chest. What I figured to be his tears plopped onto my spiky hair, dampening little spots. "Sasuke?"

"You...were doing everything you could for me...thinking of me...is it bad of me to feel really special and loved right now?" He asked, some sniffs here in his sentence. A smile crept to my face. I wrapped my arms around his waist, rather tightly, but not enough to suffocate him. This is what he needed. To feel special, and loved by people. I was so happy, happy that my efforts got through to him. I just hoped to God it wouldn't change when Itachi killed the clan.

"You're the idiot...I already told you I loved you. And it'll never change." I stated, my voice a little muffled being in his little chest but he heard it. My smile turned into a devious grin. Was he blushing madly right about now? That'd be rather entertaining.

"Shut up..." He said softly, making me childishly chuckle. Can children chuckle? He released his hold on me, prompting me to do that same. I was right, he was blushing like one of the reddest fruits out there. After a moment of silence, he spoke. "Can I...spend time with my mum and dad?" I gasped softly. That was something that never occurred to me. I began to contemplate it. It doesn't sound too bad, it seems like something would help him, actually. As long as he didn't tip Fugaku off, it would be harmless.

"As long as you don't tell them what Itachi is going to do." I glanced at him, whose eyes lightened up. Despite being eight, he was taking this better than I thought. Suddenly Sasuke looked down again.

"I have a question..." He started, I decided to wait for him to ask, rather than say anything. "How do you know this?" Oh, shit. I knew that question was coming. I could say Itachi told me. Or I could say what I told Itachi. The latter seemed less troublesome.

"I know a lot of things I shouldn't...a lot of things that could get me killed in the future." God, I sound so dramatic.

Sasuke tilted his head in slight confusion. "So...you can tell the future?" I nearly choked on my saliva. What?! I looked into his eyes, seeing if he was just joking, but their was pure innocent curiosity. Maybe it could work like that.

"I, uh...I guess I can...but I really only see one kind of future. Telling you all this has probably fucked a lot of things up already." I really hope that wasn't the case. Knowing what was going to happen in the future meant it gave me an advantage with preparing. Sasuke grinned at me. He actually grinned brightly at me.

"You're amazing, Kuroki-chan! You've helped me so much! I think I love you more now!" My heart stopped again. Oh, dear fuck. Sasuke realized what he blurted out, and gasped softly, using both his hands to cover his mouth and blushing. How many times has this kid blushed in a matter of a few hours? Wait a second, I'm blushing too! What is this brat doing to me?! I quickly averted my eyes to a tree in the distance.

"Stop saying embarrassing things, idiot!" I chided in embarrassment, he's going to kill me one day.

"Hey, shut up! You were the one who confessed first!" Sasuke pointed out, removing his hands so he could shout better. I looked to him with wide eyes. There are ninjas here! Any one of them could have heard this childish situation! Oh, my fuck. Relationship problems weren't in my list of things to experience through again.

"Don't yell it, jeez! I'm embarrassed enough that I blurted it out without you yelling to the whole village about it." I lightly glared at the younger Uchiha. That damn brat dared to smirk in triumph. I'll punch him, I swear to god. I turned my head.

"Tch. Let's just go visit your parents." I said, moving to stand up. Sasuke lost his smirk and nodded, following suit as we both brushed ourselves off. I never really talked much with Itachi's and Sasuke's parents, but I knew who they were, what they were like. When Itachi went to kill them last, they let him, saying they were proud of him. I know that if I had to kill my family, Aonami and Kuroi would do the same. Someone's presence flicked in my senses, only for a split-second, but I caught it. Someone was watching us?! Wait...that was Itachi's chakra...so he was here the whole time, and I didn't even know. I still wouldn't if he hadn't purposefully let me sense his chakra. Wait a fucking minute! He heard my mistaken confession! That dumbass was probably smirking in amusement. Gah! That's it, I'm training in sensory as well. Don't want people witnessing my most embarrassing moments.

Sasuke and I walked inside the Uchiha compound. It was bustling with dark-haired, onyx-eyed people, all oblivious to the death they were going to greet tonight. There were children, infants, teens, people of all ages, and all but Sasuke would live. I looked to Sasuke, whose fists were clenched as he walked by his fellow clansmen. He was probably angry that all these people were going to die, but also angry that his older brother had the horrible burden of having their bloods on his hands. You could tell which was the main house, it was more grand and larger than the others. Seriously, this was a small village. I grabbed Sasuke's clenched hand, his head snapping to his hand then to me. I entangled my fingers with his and grinned at him. I was getting used to being his object of affection. I'm sure he'll grow out of it. He blushed and smiled slightly at me.

"Kuroki-chan, Sasuke-kun!" Mikoto greeted us when we stepped into the main house. I nodded towards her, and she instantly noticed our hands were intertwined. Oh, fuck. Luckily Sasuke quickly released my hand, looking a little embarrassed, then walking to his mother, tightly wrapping his arms around her waist. Mikoto seemed surprised by this sudden action, but smiled softly and began to pet Sasuke's hair affectionately. It was a cute, yet sad sight. "Sasuke-kun?" Mikoto asked her youngest child, who was still hugging her tightly. He lifted his head to look up at her.

"I love you, mum." Sasuke confessed, he was probably trying to hold back tears. Mikoto was again surprised by her son's suddenly affectionate actions.

"I love you too, Sasuke. What's the matter?" She asked, a little worried now. Sasuke released her, rubbing his eyes.

"Nothing's wrong, mum. I just...I just wanted to tell you." He replied, looking at his feet. Mikoto smiled softly again. She ruffled her son's hair and began to walk somewhere. This house was huge, so I have no idea where she would go. I always needed Itachi or Sasuke to help me through this maze of a house. "Can you, dad and I hang out later?!" Sasuke called after his mother, who stopped mid-step and turned to the little Uchiha. She was still smiling.

"Of course, Sasuke-kun. Go find your father and see if he would like to." She nodded, then turned and disappeared around a corner. Sasuke smiled and then glanced at me, quickly taking my hand and leading me to wherever his father was.

We spotted Fugaku sitting at the couch in the living room, reading the newspaper. This place was honestly huge, and even with my memory, I wouldn't remember to navigate through it. Fugaku looked up from his paper, looking to the two of us. Did he always have that stern look? No wonder Sasuke often called him uncaring and stern. "Dad..." Sasuke shifted uncomfortably under his father's stern gaze. He hid our joined hands, but never let go, he tightened his grip on mine, showing he was nervous. I tightened my grip, and her looked to me, I gave him a small, reassuring smile, and he nodded, turning back to his father.

"Can...can we spend time together?" Sasuke finally asked, looking from the ground to Fugaku's currently mildly surprised face. "Mum already said that we could..."

"You're meant to be training, Sasuke. There's no time for petty gatherings." Fugaku replied, rather harshly and dismissed his son's request by returning his eyes to his paper. Well, I wanted to punch the fucker now, just as I was about to give him a piece of my mentally fucked up mind, Sasuke interrupted me.

"It's not petty!" He exclaimed, earning surprised looks from myself and Fugaku. Sasuke looked down, losing a little bit of his confidence. "It's not petty." He repeated softer this time. He took a deep breath, then looked back up to Fugaku. "I want to spend time with you and mum. After that..." The light made the tears that brimmed his eyes shine, but they never fell. "I'll train more seriously. I'll make you proud...but I want to be able to spend time with you..." I smiled, rather proud of him. It took Fugaku a few moments to register his son's sudden request and promise. He sighed, muttering something I couldn't quite hear and running a hand through his hair.

"Fine, but I expect you to be training at a higher level." Fugaku commented, giving Sasuke a stern look before glancing at me. Sasuke was smiling brightly, letting go of my hand and running to his father. I snickered when Sasuke jumped into his father's arms, the older man rather surprised.

"I love you, dad!" Sasuke said, smiling brightly with his arms around his father's waist. Fugaku obviously felt awkward, I could see it, but he gave Sasuke a soft pat on the head, albeit it a little awkwardly. The little Uchiha then came back to me, joining our hands together again. "I'll see you later!" He stated, pulling me out of the living room. I had gained eye contact with Fugaku for a few seconds, before the door frame severed it and I was being pulled to Sasuke's room.

* * *

Sasuke and I sat on his bed in his room. It was fairly clean for an eight-year-old. My room was messy a lot of the time, so I had to clean it more times than I would like. "Are you going to stay here after...?" I didn't want to finish, and Sasuke knew exactly what I meant. He looked down.

"I...maybe after a few weeks...I want to stay somewhere else until I'm ready to handle it..." That was smart, actually. I nodded, laying down, my legs hanging over the edge as he sat, cross-legged beside me.

"Seems like a good idea. Want to live with me?" I offered, Kuroi wouldn't mind after he got back, Aonami would be more than willing to let him stay. Hell, she'd be willing to let him sleep in my room because of her strange tendencies to couple me up with other kids. Sasuke stared at me. I stared back. He blushed, I felt like blushing. But I didn't. I've had enough of being all blushy.

He nodded slowly. "I would like that..." He commented softly. I donned a mischievous grin.

"Oh, I'm sure you would, Sasuke." My grin widening at his reaction, which was his eyes narrowing at me in annoyance.

"Shut up." He ordered. I turned and snickered lightly. I was glad, really glad at how things turned out. Sasuke said he wanted me to join in on their family time, even though I wanted to give him some space. He eventually convinced me when he said he would tell them if I wasn't there to keep him in emotional check. I reduced my grin to a simple small smiled, propping my head against my hand as my elbow dug into the bed.

I wanted to say something, but I didn't know what, so we just stared at each other. Neither breaking eye contact or shifting uncomfortably, it was strange. When I looked at his features, he was just a really cute boy that I had grown to love as a brother. But, as he gets older, he's going to get more attractive. If he still likes me by the time we reach Shippuden, I'm going to cave in eventually. I was the kind of person, who, if a person liked me, I would find the good points in their personality or physical appearance, to see if I would grow to like them too. It was a strange habit of mine, but I was never normal in the first place. I sighed, closing my eyes and being the first to break eye-contact. I should probably think of something else, or someone else. Like a certain Uchiha who is the older brother of the boy sitting right in front of me.

I bet Itachi was a mind-reader, because as if on que, he opened the door to Sasuke's room and walked in. He wore a passive expression, and was in his ANBU uniform. It's only eleven in the morning. Sasuke froze, looking to his older brother. Now it was their turn to stare at each other. I looked between them, sitting up and crossing my legs on the bed also.

"Itachi..." Sasuke finally said. Itachi nodded solemnly.

"Sasuke." Itachi greeted, and not too seconds later, the younger Uchiha leaped from his bed, practically tackling his older brother. Luckily the elder was strong and wasn't even phased. He held Sasuke to him as the little Uchiha sobbed into Itachi's uniform. It's probably full of snot now. Itachi looked to me, nodding in acknowledgment and thanks. I nodded back, but was still slightly miffed that he was eavesdropping. He seemed to understand the look in my eyes and smirked in the slightest. I lightly glared at him. Bastard.

"I'm so sorry, Itachi-nii! Because of me..." Sasuke sniffed, "You had to choose!" He apologized, looking up at his brother, who looked down at him with sad eyes. He was gently petting Sasuke. Jesus, first Mikoto, then Fugaku and now Itachi. They're definitely family. I was happy that Sasuke wasn't full of anger and hatred though.

Itachi grabbed Sasuke's shoulders and pushed him back a little, so he could kneel in front of him. I looked to the door, and hadn't even noticed that the elder Uchiha had shut it. Anyways, since he was on an angle, Sasuke's body wasn't hindering my view on his expression. There was a small smile, and something that shined in his eyes that I couldn't decipher. "Sasuke, no matter what I'm forced to do, you will always be my most important person." I smiled sadly at this seen. Sasuke was hicking as he tried to stop his tears. He tried to be strong, but he was still a kid. I tch'd at myself. Who am I kidding? I try to be strong too.

"There's something I want you to do, Sasuke." Itachi told Sasuke seriously. I returned my gaze to the brothers. Sasuke nodded, and I noticed the grip Itachi had on his little brother's shoulders tightened.

"I want you to kill me."

"What?" Sasuke and I asked in unison. What the fuck, man? Itachi looked to me.

"I'm not asking him to become an avenger, Kuroki-chan. Relax." Relax, he says. He just told his brother that he wanted him to kill him! I should totally relax! I frowned at him, but said nothing, and Itachi returned to look at Sasuke, whose expression I couldn't see.

"After I...do my mission, I will leave Konoha. For good." This part wasn't part of the anime, so I had no idea where he was going with this. "I want you, Sasuke, to become stronger. I want you to train so you can one day kill me." Sasuke stepped back in horror.

"But Itachi-nii! I couldn't!" He pleaded with his older brother. Now I got it. Itachi closed his eyes.

"Sasuke. This is my final wish. I do not want to be killed by any other."

The little Uchiha was shocked to say the least. Wait a minute, are we in a genjutsu? Damn, it took me this long to figure it out. Fuck, I need to work on genjutsu. Sasuke was silent for a few moments, as was Itachi and I. I saw Sasuke move his arms to wipe his tears from his face. I couldn't see his expression, but I would guess that it had determination in it. Sasuke nodded.

"I will become stronger, Itachi-nii. And I'll become more powerful than you so I can fulfill your last wish." I smiled a little at this, and so did the elder Uchiha. His eyes were filled with the affection one would have for their sibling. He brought Sasuke closer and placed him in a hug, the little one wrapping his arms around his brother's neck. This was a lot better than the canon version. Itachi closed his eyes, and a single tear escaped them. I stepped off the bed, and made my way to them, the creaking of the bed causing Itachi to slowly open his eyes and look at me. I wrapped my little arms as best I could around the both of them, I was happy, way too happy. If it weren't for my self-restraint, I'd have giggled and screamed in happiness like I was insane.

"I love you both." I said to them, now kneeling beside them and removing my arms. Sasuke and Itachi let go of one another, slowly, and turned to look at me. To my surprise, Sasuke was pouting.

"You love me more than Itachi-nii." Sasuke muttered, looking at Itachi's neck instead of me. Itachi chuckled lightly, and my face heated. This bastard! I 'guh'd and looked away. How embarrassing!

"I'm sure she does, Sasuke. After all, she's the one who confessed first." My eye twitched. I want to kill him. I glared at Itachi, who simply smirked in amusement. Fuck you, Itachi. Fuck you.

Sasuke flushed. I forgot he didn't know Itachi was watching us. "You...you were listening?" He asked, surprised and embarrassed. The ANBU uniform-wearing bastard nodded.

"I'm going to marry Kuroki-chan when I'm old enough!" Sasuke announced. Itachi again chuckled. Me? Well, I think my eyes should've popped out with how wide my eyes were. I turned towards the Uchiha brothers.

"What?!"

* * *

And there we have it. Chapter seven, complete. I had so much trouble with this one. I kind of hate it, yet love it at the same time. I hope the majority of you guys liked it. I will warn you, until I get to the beginning of the canon version, I'm making things up as I go, so this was all on a whim. Hopefully the characters were mostly in character. Review! Please?!


	8. Goodbye

I'm currently really distracted by Skyrim, right now. It's frustrating. Anyways. I think this is the chapter where Itachi kills everyone. Or I could probably postpone it until the next chapter. Depends on how far I get. Thank you guys for your reviews, and everything else. I noticed that I become rather excited when I get a new review, more so than when I get followers or favourites. Reviews motivate me to do more for you guys. Okay, I'm baiting. But it's true. Seriously.

Shuri Kuran - Thank you for the reviews. If you read Narutopedia, it tells you that Sasuke was kind and loving towards his parents and his brother, wanting to become like them. And yes, I'm changing little bits of Sasuke's outfits. His first Shippuden one was just weird.

* * *

"And it was really cool! I never saw anything like it! It was so awesome that I-" I began to zone out of Sasuke's enthusiastic story telling of when we saw shooting stars a while back. Apparently Mikoto and Fugaku weren't the victims of the little Uchiha's tellings. He'd told everything to Itachi, and now, we sat in the living room, Sasuke inbetween his mother and father, whilst I was sitting in front of them. It was sweet, seeing them. Mikoto's face was full of love and care, and I could tell that Fugaku truly loved his son. I let a small smile grace my lips.

After that ungodly incident with the little Uchiha brat, Itachi said he had to go, and after some emotional goodbyes, he left. Sasuke glanced at me, grinning. I frowned at him; this brat is going to kill me from embarrassment and shock. He laced his fingers with mine, and leaned closer. I grinned when I finally registered how goddamn short he was. It was something I revelled in, because I know, I KNOW that everyone's going to have growth spurts, and I'll just be the short one. God, I hope not. Please let me have a good growth rate. Anyways, he dragged me to the living room, where Mikoto and Fugaku already were. Itachi had kept our attention for over an hour.

And so here we are; Sasuke having the time of his life with his parents, and they were just listening to his stories like amazing parents. Fugaku was awkward, but he was still a father, and only fuckwits don't love their children. I couldn't tell anyone how happy I was for him. I had thought this would all fuck up, and he'd just be like the kid in the canon. I was so lost in my thoughts that Sasuke had to touch me to snap me out of my thoughts. My eyes immediately shifted to his face, which was rather close. His eyes were filled with worry, and his hand was on top of mine. Such a cute kid.

"Are you okay, Kuroki-chan?" he asked, tilting his head like a curious child. In the corner of my eyes, I could see Mikoto having the same face Aonami was talking to me about Sasuke's crush. Damn, that woman's going to rub it in my face that she was right. I shook my head and smiled at him. I've been smiling way too much. It's gross.

"I'm fine, sorry." I scratched the back of my head awkwardly. "I just got really distracted with all the memories." Well, that wasn't exactly a lie. Mikoto's face brightened up with that shining look in her eye. Dear fuck, do all mothers do that?

"Oh, that's right! You were with Sasuke in all of these stories, weren't you?" Mikoto clasped her hands together, were...were her eyes literally twinkling? What? I glanced at Fugaku, who was scrutinizing me. I shifted my gaze from the both of them then to Sasuke. He was smiling softly, again with that blush of his. He intertwined our fingers again and sat beside me. If he's this affectionate, I wonder what's going to happen when he gets older. "That's so cute! Fugaku-san! Little Kuroki-chan's been looking after our little Sasuke-kun." Mm...I'm not used to being called the little one. Fugaku continued to analyse me. After all this time, he still looks at me like that. Then he closed his eyes.

"Thank you for looking after my sons, Kuroki-san." Oh, what? He thanked me? Mind fucked, man. I smiled at them, Sasuke leaning against me now. He's so cute!

"It's nothing really. I'll always be here for little Sasuke." I grinned at the said Uchiha and ruffled his hair, causing him to pause in using me as something to lean on. He still held tightly to my other hand, snuggly between us. I couldn't think of him as someone I love romantically...not yet. He's just too cute, too sibling-like. But I wasn't going to break his heart when he's been trying all morning to fill it with memories. I would hate myself. He pouted at me, rubbing his hair to try and get it back in order. Mikoto giggled softly and Fugaku chuckled, even if only the slightest. Mikoto looked to the clock hanging on the wall, a small gasp escaping her.

"We've been talking for three hours? I didn't notice!" I looked to the clock too, and my eyes widened in surprise. It really had been three hours. It only felt like a few minutes, the sun's dying rays shone through the window, giving us a few indications that night would fall soon. My grip on Sasuke's hand tightened, and I know he understood. Looking back down to him, his head was down. This is the last time we'll see Mikoto and Fugaku.

"M-Mum...Dad...can I go to Kuroki-chan's house for a sleep over?" He asked softly, his voice losing its enthusiasm. Fugaku and Mikoto looked to each other, and then Mikoto looked to her youngest son, a sweet smile plastered to her lips.

"Of course, dear. You both have fun, okay?"

Sasuke glanced to me, and I nodded, loosening my hold on his hand to let him go to his parents. He quickly walked over to Mikoto and wrapped his arms around her waist, he was hugging her tightly by the way he tightened his eyes shut, fighting the oncoming tears. After a few silent moments, Sasuke released her and stepped back. He must've been smiling because Mikoto smiled back. He then made his way to his father, wrapping his arms around the awkward man. Like the last time he was hugged, the man awkwardly patted his son, but the affection in his eyes was undeniable.

"I love you both...so much." Sasuke nearly whispered against his dad's chest, I'm so glad Kuroi had made me train my other senses, hearing was a lot easier. I remember that I never listened in my old life. I closed my eyes, sighing, then after a deep breath; I opened them again, standing from the couch I had been sitting on.

"I'll be in your room, getting your shi-...uh, your stuff." Holy shit, I almost messed up! I smiled nervously then walked out and headed in the direction of his room.

Oh, my god! Where is his room?! I looked from the left side of the hallway, then to the right. Where am I?! I fucking forgot I have no navigational skills in this house! I groaned in annoyance. This house...I hate it. Maybe I should just sense Sasuke's chakra. Wait a fucking minute...what's that snickering sound? I used the cat foot technique, which enables me to be silent whenever I walked. Kuroi did it all the time. I peered around the corner, and saw a little brat with raven hair snickering on the fall. He's enjoying my horrible navigation skills within his house?

"Boo, motherfucker!" I exclaimed suddenly, causing the little brat to jump away and have his head snap in my direction. His eyes filled with fear before realizing it was me and calmed down.

"Jeez, Kuroki-chan! You scared me!" He held a hand to his heart in emphasis. Pscht. I waved a dismissive hand in his direction.

"You were the one who was enjoying my horrible navigational skills in this godforsaken house." I frowned, looking to Sasuke who was grinning sheepishly, then grabbing my hand and pulling me along. Annoying, yet cute.

Sasuke brought me to his room, the window giving me the knowledge of the darkness that was only minutes away. I sat on the bed as he began to pack his things. We were silent; there wasn't a need to talk. I watched him shuffle around the room, picking up clothes and other things. By the time he was finished the bag was rather big, he held it by the straps with hands, looking at me with sunken eyes. I stretched my arms out towards him, and immediately he dropped his bag with a thump and sped into my arms. As soon as his arms were hooked around me, I hooked mine around him. He sobbed harshly into my chest as I rested my chin on his soft hair, rubbing his back soothingly. He was bound to completely break down sooner or later. Yes, he had been crying throughout the day, but this was his final stage of grief.

I didn't care if he got snot and all that all over my hoodie, this would probably be the one time I wouldn't care. Once Sasuke began to settle down, he sat in front of me, sniffing and trying to rub his eyes of the tears. I gently grabbed his wrists, his sad yet curious eyes looking into my unreadable ones. I let go of his wrists and used the cuff of my hoodie to wipe the rest of his tears. It was dark now, and only the moonlight let me see the Uchiha in front of me. It illuminated his form. He sniffed once again, seeming to tear up at my gesture. I cupped his face within my hands and gently kissed his forehead. I let go after a few seconds. He looked at me, wide-eyed. Only then I realized just what I did. Oh, fuck. I smirk-grinned nervously. Goddammit.

"Shall we go now?" I asked, glancing to the moon. Something always drew me towards it. Whether because it was beautiful or entrancing. I felt like I had some kind of connection with it. Heh, how weird. Looking back to Sasuke, he sniffed a few more times then nodded, crawling off his bed and picking up his bag. It looked heavy, and I crawled off the bed also, about to grab the bag's strap until the brat quickly pulled away.

"I want to carry it...I don't want you to have to do everything for me...you being here for me already makes me feel spoiled." Sasuke pouted, frowning at the carpet of his room. Me being here was something I wanted to do, so there was no reason for him to feel spoiled...his entire family; save for his brother is going to die in probably less than an hour. I grabbed the strap, the bag weighing like a feather to me, and putting it over his shoulder, seeing as he wouldn't even be able to lift it up over his head because he had no physical strength yet. He gripped the strap in front of his with both his hands, looking at the ground before looking back up to me. I tilted my head at him. "I'm ready...let's go, Kuroki-chan."

I lost count at how many times he's held my hand today, but he was currently holding my hand as we walked through the Uchiha compound, saying goodbye to Mikoto and Fugaku one last time at the main house. It was quiet. Not a single soul outside. Was it always like this?

"The people don t come out at night...ten years ago, the moon had shone strangely and any who looked at it had their sharingan deactivated...permanently." Sasuke explained, looking ahead and pulling me along. I looked to the moon. The moon did that to little Sasuke's family? How strange. "But it hasn't happened since, but people are paranoid, so...yeah. Mum said that she spoke to someone who had their sharingan taken from them...they weren't blind, but our blood limit was impossible to achieve for them. Children who looked were never able to awaken the sharingan...It's scary..."

Who knew something like this happened to the Uchiha? Well, anyone outside the Uchiha clan could possibly find out how and why the moon's light took away a kekkai genkai as powerful as theirs. It's understandable to say the least. Sasuke let go of my hand to push the gates open, it was light for him, as it was to anyone, but when it was locked, the only way to get in was jump over the thirty-metre fence. After it was open enough for both of us to get through, I walked past the gates, waiting for the little Uchiha to shut the gates and turn back to me. But he leaned his head against the shut gate, knowing that this is the last time he's going to ever see anyone inside that compound. I walked up beside him, lacing my fingers with his. He glanced to me, and I was a little proud to know that he wasn't tearing up, just had sadness tainted his orbs. "Let's go..." I tugged on his hand, and he nodded, holding my hand tightly as it was my turn to lead him to my house. It was a little far, but the distraction of walking was beneficial. I closed my eyes, continuing to walk. Why do you seem so sad, moon?

On our little journey to my house, the streets of Konoha were lively and full of people. There were stalls with lanterns and people walking around. Night here was nothing like night in the Uchiha compound. Apparently there were paedophiles here too, because some old men tried to 'treat' us to some dinner as we made our way through. When I refused, they always insisted; grabbing my arm and trying to persistently convince me. I was trying to be polite to the first few, who gave up after continuous declines, but the other ones were so insistent that I kicked them in the legs. I think I broke a few bones on some of them. They really were pissing me off.

"Are there any more old men coming to 'treat' us?" Sasuke asked, annoyed himself at the events we had unfortunately gone through. I sighed; this was why I travel by the roofs and trees. Fewer annoyances. But little Sasuke here would dislike it if I carried him all the way to my house. Boys and their prides. "Kuroki-chan is mine..." The little brat murmured, probably thinking I couldn't hear him over the cheers of some drunken men we were passing. I glanced to him.

"Does that make Sasuke mine?" I asked him with a little grin, satisfied when he became pink.

"I...um...er, m...maybe..." Congratulations, Kuroki. You have won yourself a boyfriend. Who is eight. _Eight_. Whilst I m physically too young for relationships and mentally too old for puppy love. If I hadn't had that stubborn will to survive, I would have asked someone to kill me. I grinned at Sasuke, then turned back to look ahead, only to be surprised by seeing a pair of navy-coloured pants. I blinked, stopping as Sasuke leaned against me from behind, probably peering up at the person who blocked our way. I slowly shifted my eyes to his face, his attire that of a standard jounin. Well, shit. What's the famed Copy Ninja doing? In front of me.

"You need something, sir?" I asked, tilting my head to peer up at him better. Fuck he was tall. His hair only added to that height. I wonder what he looks like without the mask. Sasuke never liked talking to strangers, they unnerved him. I normally just got annoyed with them. Kakashi's eye crinkled, he was probably smiling.

"What are two kids like you hanging around this district for?" He asked light-heartedly, placing his hands in his pockets. My eyes narrowed in the slightest, what's the scarecrow up to? I smiled pleasantly at him.

"We're on our way to my house! We're having a sleepover!" I exclaimed, acting like an innocent child. I could feel Sasuke's eyes burning into the back of my head. He knew I never acted like this. Unless it came to bacon. But even then, I acted more like a teenager who finally got their video game. I miss video games.

We need to get home. Why is Kakashi here? "Oh? That's nice then. Here, I'll escort you kiddies." What? This guy is confusing! He immediately turned and began walking; not turning back to us. I glanced to Sasuke, who glanced to me. I shrugged and began to follow the copy ninja through the crowd, Sasuke tightening his grip on my hand because people were loving to push us here and there. I kept asking myself why he was here, why is he escorting two kids who are strangers to him? When people began to become scarce as we made our way through, it was only Kakashi, Sasuke and I in the silence of the night and the moon's presence.

"Why are you escorting two kids who you don't know, sir?" I asked, using my childish tone that feigned curiosity. He stopped and turned to us, looking like he was smiling under that mask. Sasuke leaned closer to me. He wasn't meant to meet Kakashi until we graduated. Motherfuck.

Kakashi scratched his insane hair that was probably extremely soft despite its gravity defying nature. "Heh, well. I know your father." He finally answered. I blinked. Then I blinked again.

"What?!" I exclaimed in shock. How does Kuroi and Kakashi kno-wait a moment...they're both ex-ANBU. They knew each other all the way back then? Kakashi chuckled softly. "We were temporary team mates back when we were ANBU. You look exactly like him, so I thought it'd be nice to escort his daughter...and her friend, home." Why did that sound dirtier than I would like? Oh, fuck. Dirty-minded ten-year-old. Things just get better and better. I sighed.

"Thank you...Kakashi." I smirk-grinned at him, his visible eye widened in surprise at my knowledge of his name. I hadn't noticed we were already at the front of my house until I noticed I was a dirty-minded ten-year-old. So, like a child would, I pulled on Sasuke's hand and ran to my door, opening it, dragging Sasuke in and grinning at Kakashi before closing the door. I snickered at the thought of an older me doing the exact thing.

I looked to Sasuke. He was looking at me with a confused, curious look. I simply gave him a little grin and brought him into the kitchen. "Kuroki-chan!" Aonami greeted me excitedly as I made my presence known. She seemed to be making dinner, and Shiruba was watching television. The silver dog was always entranced with it, only bacon and me patting him would get him out of it. Aonami must've now just realized Sasuke was with me, because she gasped like a schoolgirl. Something she always did when the Uchiha was around. "Little Sasuke~!" She basically squealed. Thank fuck she doesn't have a high pitched voice, or I would be tempted to kill her. Sasuke tensed instantly at the mention of his name by Aonami. The enthusiastic woman glomped the poor kid in her arms, my hand being pulled up by Sasuke's, his grip deadly. For some reason, he was always afraid of her in the first few moments of greetings. Well, I can kind of guess why. The woman I call my mother is always overly excited whenever one of the brats come around. Especially Sasuke.

"A-Aonami-san...! I...I can't breathe!" Sasuke barely choked out, the woman was strong, definitely. Aonami 'oh'd and loosened her grip on Sasuke, setting him down. Finally, the little Uchiha was able to breathe, and he immediately held me close, wrapping his arms around my waist tightly and burying his face into my back. Aonami and I chuckled softly. She held an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun. I always get excited to see you." She apologised, although it was light. Sasuke peeked around me, staring up at her. He nodded shyly. I threw a small ball in the direction of Shiruba, hitting him in the head. It bounced off...and the dog was still out of it. If anyone's wondering where I got the ball from; I found it on the counter we were right beside. "Right. I'll make some bacon for you three. You two go upstairs and make yourselves comfortable. Shiruba will come up when he snaps out of it." She placed her hands on her hips, a bright smile placed on her lips. I nodded, turning to face Sasuke, who reluctantly let go of me. I grinned at him, and he blushed. We walked up the stairs, my footsteps silent whilst Sasuke's were soft, but were much louder than mine.

The door was opened; the rope Shiruba used hanging off the doorknob as usual. I stepped in, my lovely bed practically calling to me. I cheered and jumped onto the bed, landing in the middle. Beds are amazing. I heard Sasuke's giggling from behind. I rolled over, seeing him smiling at the door way. His smile created something happy within me, but it also created something extremely sad. Was it the knowledge of knowing that smile wouldn't be the same? Would I ever see it again? I sighed. I shouldn't think so negatively.

The Uchiha placed his bag at the foot of my chair where my desk sat in the other corner of the room. He then walked over to me, and I moved to give him some room. Sasuke crawled onto the bed as I moved to lay on the side where the wall stopped my back from falling off the bed. He laid beside me, and we basically stared at each other. "Did...you want the light on, Kuroki-chan?" The little Uchiha asked after a few moments of some kind of staring contest, him being the first to break the eye contact. I shook my head, grabbing onto the pillow I used to hug, and pulling it to my small chest.

"I like the moonlight more than artificial light." I admitted, grinning at him. "Something...something about the moon comforts me, it's strange, but I prefer it to any kind of light."

"You're strange." Sasuke deadpanned. I frowned at him; about to reply but he smiled at me. "I like that." I blinked in mild surprise. What? He grinned at me. "I don't love you because you weren't my fan girl like the girls in the academy...I don't even know..." He blushed and averted his eyes nervously. "But one day, you were the prettiest person I ever saw...I couldn't stop looking at you, couldn't stop admiring you. I...I know I may be young...but I'm sure I love you, Kuroki-chan." I was surprised when he looked back at me, confident enough to look serious. "Not like how I love Itachi-nii or mum or dad..." He shuffled closer and hugged the pillow I was cuddling. Well, to be perfectly honest. I was stunned. Stunned, I tell you. Sasuke was burying his face in the pillow, probably extremely embarrassed by now.

I looked down. Do I tell him I see him as a little brother? Would it hurt him, or not? Or should I continue to make it seem like...no. "Sasuke...I feel flattered you think of me that way..." I started, sighing. Sasuke lifted his head up, frowning.

"But...?" Damn, he's smart.

"I...think of you as a little brother."

He sighed. "I knew it..." I blinked.

"What?"

"I knew it...I knew you saw me as a little brother. It's in your eyes..." I looked down. My eyes were dead. They could be expressive, yes...but they never reflected off any light. It was strange, but no one except Kuroi commented on it. Could it be normal?

"I'm sorry I misled you..." I apologised, finally getting back to our current conversation.

"It's okay..." Sasuke said, but his tone was disheartened. Then all of a sudden, he's smiling brightly at me. "I'll make you fall in love with me. I promise."

So, someone better not say I look like a gaping fish, because that's what I feel like. He grinned confidently at me. That little shit! I raised the pillow we were both holding, Sasuke surprised by the action and letting it slip through his hands. With a small battle cry, I smothered Sasuke with the pillow, squirming under the pillow and making muffled sounds. I wasn't going to kill him, he would live. After thinking he had enough, I removed the pillow and frowned suspiciously at him. He was panting and glaring lightly at me. "What was that fo-" He started, but cut himself off. Oh, shit. He noticed. My frown turned into a glare when he gained a huge grin. "You're blushing!"

* * *

"Oh, Sasuke-kun. What happened to you? You're all red." Aonami asked as she set the plates on the table, Sasuke sitting across from me and smiling nervously. My look was probably one of 'say-anything-you-die'.

The damned Uchiha laughed nervously. "I couldn't breathe from laughing." Guess he wasn't going to say I almost killed him with a pillow. "Kuroki-chan and I were talking about something funny." He glanced at me, a devious look in his eye. Dammit. My stubborn ways scream at me not to fall for this kid, simply because he said he was going to make me fall in love with him. Wouldn't most people who were stubborn feel like that?

When I glanced to Aonami, she had that mischievous gleam in her eye. Dammit, she caught on. "Oh, okay. Well. I hope you like bacon, because these two do." Aonami commented with a grin.

"Bacon!" I cheered, Shiruba, who had finally come out of his entranced state barked in glee on the ground beside me. The heavenly meat was filling our senses. Fuck everything else for the time being, bacon was more important. Imagine my reaction when I first found out that they had bacon in this world. At least I could eat vegetables in this body. My old body physically rejected them because of how much I hated them; now I can eat them and not spit them all over my family.

Shiruba nudged me with his head, knocking me out of my daze and causing me to shift my eyes to him. I patted him affectionately, and then told him to go over to Sasuke; the silver dog obeying loyally. The Uchiha grinned at the dog who walked under the table to get to him. "Hey, Shiruba." Sasuke greeted, petting the large dog who attempted to comfort him.

I closed my eyes. So, Itachi...you're going to commit the act around midnight? When most people are asleep...makes sense. Obito helps him, right? Playing as Tobi. Not even Itachi could kill _everyone_ in the clan by himself. Many would run, or hide, but with two powerful shinobi, they were doomed to death. I wonder about that thing with the moon that night. Why did it happen? And how in the hell did the moonlight permanently deactivate the sharingan! Seriously, that seems kind of impossible...then again, chakra was impossible in my old world. I might have to- that overwhelming smell! It's cooked~!

"There you go. My amazing bacon is done!" Aonami grinned as she placed a plate full of bacon in front of me and Sasuke. The Uchiha would eat it, as long as it wasn't sweet. How can he not like sweets? Anyways, I fist pumped. "Be sure to eat it all!"

"Okay!" I replied, grinning like a deranged child. Shiruba barked and quickly went over to me, who had more bacon than Sasuke, who wasn't semi-obsessed with the delicious meat. Aonami knew I always shared with the large dog, and she knew our appetite, which was something I worried about sometimes. It was huge to say the least. She mentioned that we might have to get a new freezer, and just put all the bacon we need in it.  
Sounded amazing, actually. I grabbed a few slices, sure to make sure the oil didn't go everywhere; giving them to Shiruba who opened his mouth and waited for the meat. I giggled when he began chewing on all of them at once. I proceeded to get my own slices and eat them.

Three full plates of bacon. That was the amount that Shiruba and I had gotten to within fifteen minutes. Sasuke was still on his first plate, having other food instead of just bacon. The dog could grin, strange enough, but it was funny when we grinned at each other in accomplishment. Good feed. I pushed my chair back, standing up and grabbing the rather clean plate and walking over to the sink. I placed it in the sink and watched my hands. "I'll be in the training room, Sasuke." I informed the boy who was slowly eating. He nodded, and I made my way to where I said I was going. After turning corners, walking down hallways and other things, I made it to the training room. It was the place Kuroi and I trained at whenever the environment wasn't suitable for our training. Water did conjunct with lightning though, but we'd probably kill the electricity in the village.

The training room was spacious, like many of our rooms. We weren't rich...at least I don't think. Apparently this house was a gift from the Hokage to Kuroi, as he had no home when he was young and made it into the jounin ranks. Pretty nice place. There were weights that were modified to suit this world more, a large mat for taijutsu training, and a bunch of other things I had no effort to mention. I trudged over to the mat, sitting down with my legs crossed and cracking my neck. I suppose I'll meditate until everything in my stomach digests properly so I can do some strength exercises. I really wanted to have that Tsunade strength. Does anyone know how awesome that'd be?

"Kuroki-chan?" Sasuke's voice sounded in my ears, he was currently walking in when I had my eyes closed and clearing my mind of unnecessary things. I stopped my meditation and opened my eyes. I was greeted by the sight of Sasuke sitting on top of Shiruba, who had most likely carried him here since he had horrible navigational skills in my house. "What 'cha doing?" He asked curiously, tilting his head. Shiruba kneeled down so Sasuke could get off.

I yawned and stretched my arms. "Nothing much. Just some meditation." I replied casually. Something occurred to me; Sasuke will have to get the rest of his stuff after the massacre. I sighed, better not mention it now. He's probably not thinking of it at all right now. Slowly, a mischievous grin formed on my face. Sasuke blinked in confusion. "Weight training." The little Uchiha paled.

"Kuroki-chan! It's too heavy!" Sasuke complained as he tried to lift the bags that were filled with heavy metal used for weights. He was currently hunched over, unable to take his hands off because I used some glue and put my chakra in it and made it a lot stronger. The benefits of chakra. Thank you, Sage of Six Paths. I sat in front of him, a bland look on my face. "It's six kilograms." I deadpanned. Yes, a regular eight-year-old wouldn't be able to carry that much, but I was strict for some things, like my father. Six kilograms was nothing. Perhaps I should stop using the weights? No way, I've never taken them off, and I was afraid what I'd be like without them. Good thing they don't get dirty.

"B-But it's too heavy for me! You're strong, so of course it wouldn't be heavy for you." Sasuke pouted at me, frowning in annoyance. The mix of expressions was amusing. I sighed, uncrossing my legs and standing up. I took the chakra enhanced glue off his hands. He sighed in relief as he quickly let go of the handle of the weight. I guess we'll go with something easier.

"Nine-hundred grams. Surely you can pick that up." I kicked the much smaller bag of weights towards him. He bent down to pick it up, and was actually able to pick it up this time, even if his arms were shaking a little. How did he get from this, to how he was in the anime? "Congrats, now hold it up over your head for a minute."

"What?!"

It was eight-thirty by the time I decided to call it quits. Sasuke was half-asleep on Shiruba's back as we made our way back to the living room. I told Shiruba to go upstairs and put Sasuke in my room, the loyal dog barked and carefully walked up the stairs so the little Uchiha didn't fall off. My eyes lingered towards them for a bit before walking to the living room. I trudged over to the bookshelf that was against the far wall, placing my hands on its side and pushing it. It only took a few moments before I could see the door to Aonami's library. I stopped pushing the bookshelf and dusted off my hands, moving to open the doorknob of the plain door. It made a light creaking sound as I pushed it open. There was a wooden stairway which would lead me to the library full of books and scrolls. The reason Aonami had an underground library that seemed so secret was because she was paranoid of people stealing her collections. It's understandable, some of them scrolls looked extremely important. I actually think she may have some Forbidden Jutsus in the library we both loved.

Aonami must've sensed me, or heard the creak of the door we concealed, because she was looking to my direction when I came into view. The library was rather big, it wasn't dusty or looking run down, it actually looked brand new, with fancy furniture for reading here and there. Honestly, it was huge. The ceiling around twenty metres high, the shelves attached to the ceiling and to the floor, no shelf scarce of books and scroll. The woman was a book hoarder. A good thing. Meant more knowledge for me to soak up. "Kuroki-chan? Where's little Sasuke-kun?" She asked casually, giving me a small smile as she dusted off a particular book in her hand. I walked over to a shelf that held methods to being able to improve in different areas such as chakra control. I was currently reading through books on lightning techniques.

"He's upstairs with Shiruba," I grinned at the memory of his struggle with weights. "We were playing with weights." I grabbed a scroll, opening it to read its contents. I was planning on making water release my second element when I was able to. Water would amplify the power of lightning. At least I hope so. It would make things easier, and while I knew many lightning techniques, I wasn't the best at them. I would be fully absorbed with the scroll I was holding if it weren't for Aonami's little giggles.

I glanced at her. "You think Sasuke could live here if something happened?" I asked randomly. Aonami was a little surprised by the sudden question, but soon smiled.

"Of course he could. I love the little kid like he was my own son." She replied lovingly. I feel my stomach dropping at that gleam in her eye and the dramatic gesture that she always used when she was about to talk about my non-existent love life. "But he's going to be my son-in-law in only a few years! My little Kuroki-chan and Sasuke-kun getting married!"

"No way! The brat already said he was going to marry me when he was old enough, I don't need you to consent to it!" I exclaimed in horror. Kuroi wouldn't so easily consent to something like that. He stalked every boy who came over with his eyes. Lazy and laid-back, yes, but still a protective father. Maybe he could help.

"Oh, no!" Aonami looked dramatically sternly at me, one arm on her hip, the other having a finger pointing at me. "Don't think your father will get you out of this one! The mother always wins!" Who is this woman?! I groaned, rolling the scroll back up and placing it in its respective place. I then walked over to the stairs.

"Whatever...I just came down to tell you Sasuke and I will have a bath then go to bed." I explained with a defeated expression, soon making my way up the rather long set of stairs. I could hear the woman complaining.

"My Kuroki-chan should be more feminine! She acts like a lazy teenager!"

Probably because I was. Probably still am.

I undressed in the bathroom, it wouldn't be much of a problem with Sasuke looking at my ten-year-old body, but something about being less than eleven physically, but older than fifteen mentally made things awkward for me. I yawned as I through the towel over the rack like normal, and turned on the hot water. I stood there for a few moments, my form instantly being drenched under the hot liquid. I figured out how to make my weights skin tight, so now it was like second skin. It looked light, but it would probably create a crater if I dropped them. I was surprised when the weights adjusted to my body type, so I didn't have to take them off. Water would be able to cleanse the skin the weights concealed, as I let the chakra leak out and weaken its weight so it would sag. I have no idea if that made sense.

While I did all my hygienic stuff in the shower, my mind wandered to the moon. This world's moon was created by the Sage of Six Paths; it was a jail to the Ten-Tails, I think. I snorted when I remembered a fan fiction with an original character who was the jinchuuriki of the Ten-Tails. Bull-fucking-shit. Anyways, what happened to the Uchiha clan ten years ago; was that the doing of the Ten-Tails or not? Maybe I was attracted to the moon because of my fucked up respect and awe for the tailed beasts. Well, it was pretty awesome. I turned the shower off; I turned the water to icy temperatures a few minutes after turning on the hot water. Cold water helped my muscles, but it also woke me up.

When I walked into my room with my 'night clothes', pyjamas weren't my thing; Sasuke was laying the untaken side of my bed. Shiruba was curled under the Uchiha's feet; he was small enough for the dog to fit comfortably. I walked over to him, combing my fingers through his hair. He turned slowly, rubbing his eye as he peered up at me. "Kuroki...?" He asked groggily. I smirk-grinned.

"Go take a bath, then you can sleep." He nodded and sat up, getting off the bed and slowly making his way to the bathroom. I yawned as I walked to turn the light off, throwing the towel I used to dry my hair on my chair. I crawled onto my side of the bed, getting under the sheets and looking out the window.

Sleep quickly wanted to claim me; the day was more stressful than I thought. I gave a deep sigh. From tomorrow onwards, training is going to be our main focus. After Kuroi gets back, I'll gather Naruto so the three of us could train in teamwork together. It would help us out in the future, because it's predictable that I'll replace Sakura in team 7. Damn Aonami and her threatening ways. Working on our teamwork and other skills will give us a better chance when we become genin. Wait...Naruto! Oh, shit! I was meant to meet up with him today! Fuck! I face palmed. Sorry, Naruto.

I don't know how long I had been thinking, but I hadn't fallen asleep when Sasuke came in, all fresh from the bath. He closed the door and walked over to the bed, climbing up and crawling into his spot under the covers. He was on his side, facing me. I decided to the same and face him. "Thank you, Kuroki-chan." Sasuke thanked me, onyx eyes glimmering in the moonlight. It was then I knew that I had some kind of strange fetish with the moon and its light.

"It's fine. It's what I'm here for." I replied, smiling slightly. While not exactly true, I made it my goal to help some people from becoming the monsters they were in the anime. Well, Obito is too far gone; I don't really give a shit about Akatsuki except Itachi. I think I want to be able to beat them, not befriend them.

The little Uchiha shuffled closer and wrapped his arms around my waist, burying his face at the base of my neck, his hair tickling my chin. I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around him, like a protective sister. No one spoke, so it was easy for me to be lost in the darkness of sleep.

Can't wait for tomorrow...

I don't know what time it was when I woke up, but it was clearly morning. Sasuke and I were still cuddling, and by his steady breaths, he was still asleep. I smiled a bit and I ran my fingers through his hair affectionately. I'm glad you didn't have any nightmares. It was quiet, only the sound of the chirping birds outside the window echoing in my ears. It didn't last long. I sensed an unknown chakra flow, and Aonami's. Her chakra spiked in horror and worry, and I cringed when I could feel her hurrying to my room. I closed my eyes and cringed. This wasn't something you wanted to wake up for. I hope we're prepared...

Aonami burst through the door of my room, the sudden act startling Shiruba and Sasuke awake. The look on her face was horrible. Fear and horror, along with all these mixed negative emotive expressions.

"Sasuke!"

* * *

Oh, my fuck! Finally! Do you guys have any idea how much trouble I had with this chapter? My god. It was horrible. I have a headache now. Anyways. I hope you liked this chapter. Personally, I thought it was just weird. Kakashi's personality is actually hard for me to portray. Well! Reviews, man. I need them. They give me the power to type more. I'm serious.


	9. Loss, Friendship, Omusubi and Dango

You have no idea how much trouble I had with this chapter. Seriously. I had to keep changing different scenes because it was too fast or too unrealistic. Then I get distracted with other stories and worrying about school. I'm meant to pass English and Math to get into the classes for animation, but I've been so distracted. Goddammit. Anyways. I also would like to inform you guys that I have a poll on my profile for who you want Kuroki to be paired up with. Obviously Sasuke's going to be one of them, but I'm planning on having a Sasuke/Kuroki/?. My dear reviewer MockingBird wants it to be with Shikamaru. The ones who've actually voted actually want her to be paired up with Neji. I was like; Holy shit, what?

It'll be open for quite a while, and I will inform you guys when it will begin to close and the pairing will be official, but so I can prepare for later chapters, I would appreciate votes and/or reviews. I've also added Gaara, for any who love that panda. Now, read the story. I hope you guys like it.

* * *

"Sasuke!"

Aonami called out to the startled child, Sasuke turning abruptly to see the woman in panic and worry. I sat up, pulling the little Uchiha with me because we were still holding onto each other. His grip on my hand told me he knew why Aonami was in a state of horror. I cringed at the thought of seeing his clan all dead, bodies everywhere and blood splatters staining the ground and wall.

"Something has happened to your family!" She spoke urgently, quickly shuffling towards us and grabbing Sasuke's other arm, forcing him to literally jump out of bed with me closely following. Shiruba barked as he followed us. We were basically racing down the stairs with Aonami in the lead. I glanced to the door, and there was an unknown shinobi. He was wearing a dog mask, dressed in ANBU clothing. Even if I couldn't see his face, I felt eyes on me. "ANBU-san!" Aonami called to the mysterious being, the ANBU member turned their head in the slightest to face the disturbed woman better. She was pulling us along to the door, Sasuke looking back at me. We shared a sorrowful look, and our grips on each other's hands tightened.

"Uchiha Sasuke is confirmed as the last of the Uchiha clan." The ANBU stated with an emotionless tone, his voice was young though, around twenty-five.

"He's not going back to that place! I am not having a child live in the very area his family was slaughtered at!" Aonami announced, outraged. She let go of Sasuke and held her hands on her hips. The Uchiha and I held each other close, his arms wrapped around my waist and hiding his face within my chest. Small sniffs escaped him as I held him tightly, Shiruba moving to our sides and surrounding us with his warm body. He nudged his head against the despaired boy in a comforting manner.

"The council-" The ANBU started to reply after Aonami's outburst, but was quickly cut off by the woman's motherly wrath.

"Listen here! We are not of a clan! We have nothing to gain by having an Uchiha at our home except another family member! Do not think my family would use a child for such dark purposes!" She exclaimed, her voice and body language obviously showing that she wasn't going to just sit and let Sasuke be all by himself at this time of grief. She stepped forward, her face all up in the ANBU's concealed one. The entire time he was just an emotionless messenger. "I don't care what the council says. The Taidana family _will_ take care of Uchiha Sasuke whether they agree or not." She stated softly, evenly, but there was a tone of a subtle threat in her voice. I almost grinned when the ANBU member's hand twitched. He was annoyed, and while he may be able to say some things in response to the fiery woman, he knew that nothing would perturb her from her current goal.

"We promise to take good care of him if they let us adopt him." I voiced softly, petting the crying Uchiha's hair as I looked up at the dog mask. His head shifted to face me. For some reason, I felt like his eyes were on my scars, rather than my non-reflective eyes. Hm. "My scars were from training with my father. They don't abuse me, sir." I pointed out, I feel like that's what he was thinking. Sasuke shifted in my arms, his ear now against my childish chest and possibly listening to my heartbeat now. I saw the ANBU sigh.

"Fine. I will inform the council of this...proposal. There are no guarantees." And with that said, he was gone. That's it. I'm training to be at the level of ANBU. Aonami sighed in relief as she shut the door and leaned against it. She looked to Sasuke and I. A soft, loving smile and a single bead of sweat running down her cheek gracing her facial features.

"Thank you, Kuroki-chan." She thanked, dropping down to her knees and wrapping her arms around us children. It was an aura of motherly love. I wouldn't cry, it was something I would never do again. It was my resolve. And soon enough, it would be something Sasuke would never want to do again either. The little Uchiha used this Taidana cocoon to let himself cry like it was the end of the world. It wasn't far off, his clan was wiped out, but he still had us. He still had people who loved him. He better know that.

I felt Aonami kiss my head softly, and soon after she released us, standing up. "Alright...you two go sit at the lounge...I'll make some hot chocolate for you both." She said with the affection only a mother could have. I nodded, and pushed Sasuke softly, his eyes puffy and red with tears still escaping freely. He looked up at me and I smiled slightly, grabbing his hand that that held the bunch up material of my hoodie from my back and leading him through the hall way and into the living room. Shiruba followed closely.

The couch was big, meant for four adults. Shiruba, Sasuke and I would be able to fit easily. I yawned lightly as I finally made it to the couch and crawled up, being too small to just turn and sit. Sasuke and Shiruba followed, but Shiruba jumping up instead of crawling. I leaned against the arm rest of the couch, my legs folded underneath me, causing me to sit on my feet, but I didn't mind much, everyone sat like this here and there. The despaired Uchiha rested his head in my lap, his raven hair scattering on my legs. Shiruba sat beside us, his fur keeping us warm from the morning cold. My fingers combed through his hair soothingly as he turned to face the television. He was sniffing and hicking here and there, but no sobs. He curled up, his head still resting on my lap. I heard Sasuke whisper something, but for once, it was too low for my trained senses to hear. "Sorry, Sasuke. What did you say?" I asked gently, still combing my fingers through his hair. I know how strangely soothing the action was if you were on the receiving end, Aonami doing it to me sometimes whenever we watched the television together.

Sasuke sniffed. "I said..." He spoke a little louder, but it was barely above a whisper. "I love you..."

I closed my eyes. "I know..." I replied. "I love you too, Sasuke." I felt the Uchiha shift a little.

"Not the way I do...you love me the way mum and dad did..."

"You said you were going to make me fall in love with you, didn't you?"

I could see the light blush forming on his visible cheek, and he nodded. "I will...and I'll...I'll become stronger too...for Itachi-nii..."

A small smile graced my lips. I'd like to see him grow and become stronger. I changed the way he thought when I entered his and Itachi's lives...I couldn't predict the end result of his personality. I leaned down, using my free hand to push back the hair that was being pulled down by gravity and hindering my view behind my heavily pierced ear. I actually had forgotten about them, they were light despite the numbers, so I could never tell they were there. Sasuke noticed my movements and turned his head, looking up at me with mild curiosity. I used this action to my advantage and leaned closer, pushing his bangs out of the way before placing my lips on his forehead. Only a few seconds past before I broke the physical contact with my lips and his forehead, leaning back up and pulling the hair behind my ear back to its original place. The little Uchiha looked a little surprised, an instant blush on his cheeks making his tears seem almost unnoticeable.

"What...?" He put a hand over his forehead, still not really understanding the reasoning behind my action. I smiled a little at him.

"I like it better when you're blushing, rather than when you're crying. It's...cuter." I almost grinned at him.

He frowned, a little pout on his lips as he looked away. Despite the annoyed expression, his blush deepened quite a few shades. I gave a small childish chuckle, combing my hands through his bangs which pulled them back again. "You're not alone, Sasuke...I'll always love you...always be there for you..." No matter what he did, I would always love him. Sasuke's eyes returned stare into mine.

There was silence between us, it wasn't awkward or tense, but it was a silence that was needed for us. Looking into each other's eyes was like looking into each other's souls, trying to read their emotions, to understand them. Sasuke's eyes were expressive, but mine...they felt dead to me. "Sasuke-kun..." I blinked, looking up to see Aonami standing on the other side of the coffee table that was in front of the couch with two mugs of hot chocolate, the steam rising up. I hadn't noticed her, at all.

The Uchiha sat up, his feet now dangling off the edge of the couch as Aonami reached over to hand us our cups. I leaned forward and grabbed the mug with both hands. "Thank you." I said to Aonami, who smiled softly at me, then to Sasuke, who was blowing softly on his hot chocolate. I didn't do that, my tongue was dulled to the hot sensation due to the mild torture training Kuroi put me through. It sounds bad, but it's only a genin-level torture training session. Helps with whenever I get caught and my captors want to be sadists to get information. I sipped on my drink. "It's good." I commented, Sasuke nodding in agreement after taking a small sip. Aonami grinned softly.

"Of course. I made it." She boasted casually, soon walking over and wanting to sit between Sasuke and I. We shuffled over, and Aonami fit easily. The little Uchiha was leaning against Shiruba and drinking his hot chocolate slowly. I yawned and took large sips from mine. Aonami sighed and leaned back. "I'm sorry I didn't ask if _you_ wanted to stay with us, Sasuke-kun." She apologized to Sasuke, who looked up at her. He shook his head.

"No...I want to stay with you...thank you..." He replied, his voice remaining just above a whisper. He stared into his cup with sad, puffy eyes. Aonami placed her hand on my shoulder and her other on Sasuke's, bringing us towards her in a gentle hug. We still held onto our mugs of hot chocolate, and her grabbing us didn't cause any to spill. Lucky.

I rested my head against her, taking a sip from my drink. As the two of us drank, all four of us were silent. A lot of talking wasn't really necessary at the moment. It was only a few moments later that I finished my drink and leaned forward, Aonami letting me move to place the mug on the coffee table and move back into her arms. For some reason, I was more tired than I should've been in the morning. Sasuke was probably almost finished with his drink by now. Oh, now, it seems. He leaned forward and did the same thing I did only a few minutes ago. We both silently snuggled up to Aonami, who emitted warmth and love. That's probably why I was so tired. I could feel myself being dragged back to sleep, and I didn't resist despite disliking to sleep anywhere but my bed.

* * *

When I felt myself waking, something warm was pressed against me, but my eyelids were practically glued shut at the moment. I yawned, stretching on...the couch? That's right, I fell asleep. But I was laying down...Aonami left? I finally cracked an eye open, my vision a little blurry from not using it for a little bit. A few blinks and everything was fine again. I swept my hair out of my face, and then attempted to sit up. I couldn't because there was a certain child clinging to my form. One leg was entangled with mine, arms wrapped around my waist and a face in the crook of my neck. I stared at the ceiling.

I'm his goddamn pillow.

I sighed, deciding not to wake him. From the natural light lighting the room, I could guess it was still day. Aonami must've left to go to the Hokage Tower for negotiations. A small moan caught my attention, and the little Uchiha shifted, trying to bury his face deeper into my neck and tightening his hold on me. "Itachi-nii..."

Damn...I hope he's having a good dream about his brother. Speaking of him...did he speak with the Hokage about protecting Sasuke? I better not have changed Team seven's arrangements any more than I already have. It'd ruin everything and I'd be pissed. I wonder how he got the fatal disease, and how he had such willpower to keep on living just to let his own brother kill him. It's admirable. I heard the soft steps of my loyal canine come towards me, and I turned my head to look at Shiruba. He whined a little as he was close enough to rub his forehead against mine in an affectionate manner. I used my free hand to pet him gently, smiling a little.

"Hey, there Shiruba. How long has it been since mum left?" I asked in a whisper. The silver dog leaned back, and I raised my hand. He pressed his nose against my palm four times, signifying four hours. I looked to the window closest to me. The sun was almost blinding, it must be around twelve. I looked back to my faithful Shiruba and gave him a praising pat and smile. "Good boy." Shiruba was smart, and with the little training of being able to communicate with us whenever we asked a question or wanted him to go tell someone something, he was a good informant and messenger. A knock on the door peeled my mind from my thoughts. I could feel Kiba and Naruto's familiar chakra just outside the door. I sighed.

Carefully attempting to pry the little Uchiha off me, I tried to first grab his arms and gently pull them off me. The little shit tightened his grip. Goddammit. Fuck it then. I slowly placed my free hand under his closest arm pit...then tickled the shit out of him. Sasuke's eyes flew open and he squirmed erratically, trying to stop the tickling sensation. "A-Ah! Hahaha! K...Kuroki-chan~! S-stop!" Sasuke pleaded as I was finally free from his grip holding himself to stop me from tickling him. I sat up, grinning lightly at him. He panted with a light blush, looking up at me with less puffy eyes. "Wh...What was that for?" He asked, flinching a little when I moved over him to get off the couch.

"You were clinging to me in your sleep, so I couldn't move." I explained simply, yawning and stretching. Sasuke turned to face me, lying on his side as I made my way through the living room to the hallway. Shiruba followed me. An annoying amount of loud bangs on my front door were sounding, and I quickened my pace to grab the doorknob, turn it and _fling_ the door open. The loud-mouth brats had their hands still up in fists, wide eyes and gaping mouths indicated their surprise. I frowned in annoyance. "Do you need to bang on my door so loudly?" I asked, cracking my neck.

They finally dropped their hands and were soon up in my face, both looking worried. "Hey, we heard about Sasuke-teme's..." Naruto started off loudly, but soon trailed off into silence after. He looked down, not wanting to voice out the fate of Sasuke's clan. Kiba averted his eyes to the wall.

He frowned as he scratched his head. "We...we wanted to check up on him...because we knew he'd be here." Kiba explained softly, a small blush taking his cheeks. I smiled at them, it's good they cared. I ruffled their hairs, earning myself protests from the brats. I shuffled around them to let them in, and they went further into the house as I grabbed the doorknob and shut the front door. When I turned around, Kiba and Naruto were already disappearing into the living room. I looked to Shiruba, who yawned lightly.

"Yo, Sasuke-kamo." Kiba greeted the little Uchiha who was surprised to see them and sat up. He frowned a little at being called a duck. Kiba sat on one side of Sasuke as Naruto tripped over nothing. I snorted and snickered as Kiba laughed loudly. Sasuke was giggling before smirking smugly at the blonde.

"Dobe, you're such a klutz." He mocked light-heartedly, the said person groaning in agitation and jumping up.

"Shut up, Sasuke-teme! I came to see if you were alright! Be grateful the great Uzumaki Naruto has come to see you!" Naruto exclaimed with the dramatic finger pointing. Kiba snickered.

"Idiot. Kamo here would rather me see him than you."

"No way!"

"I'd rather not see both of you."

"Well, we're here."

"Yeah, put up with it. We don't know what kind of things you've wanted to do with Kuro-chan."

What?! I snapped my head up from the fridge, looking in the direction of the living from the kitchen. What the fuck did he just say?! "What?! Sh-shut up!" I heard Sasuke yell in horror. I took a deep breath and sighed, running a hand through my hair. I feel so old when they're around. Shiruba barked, and I glanced at him. I grinned.

Well, it was nice that they came here for Sasuke. Even if they're loud and annoying, they know how to get your mind off depressing things. Naruto was a ball of blinding sunshine, much like Kiba, but he was more animalistic. The racket they made from the living room made things livelier. I liked that.

Wait a fucking minute. What is that horrible taste in my mouth? Oh, my god! My entire morning routine is ruined! I dramatically slapped my hands to my head as I dropped to my knees. No! Why?! Goddammit! "Shiruba. Go look after the little shits. I'm doing my morning routine." I ordered the dog, who didn't seem to mind at all, even barking in affirmation and dashing off to the living room. I growled as I stood up and shut the door of the fridge. I _hate_ messing up my routines.

I was currently standing in the bathroom, using my black toothbrush to clean my teeth. I annoyingly needed a stool to reach the goddamn sink, and the mirror was even higher, so I was never able to get a look at my appearance. Not that it really mattered to me, as long as I was comfortable. Though I feel like my eyes are becoming a bit darker around the edges. I've been stressing a lot lately, so it wouldn't surprise me if I had major bags under my eyes. I sighed in relief after having finished my morning routine, it felt wrong not to do it in the morning, but at least I had done it. I don't have an OCD about it. I don't. Oh, my fucking god! I need breakfast and lunch now! ARGH!

Practically stomping down the stairs, I walked into the living room where the three brats were with an annoyed aura. They stopped their conversations, noticing my mood. "Get your asses up. We're getting food." I commanded, giving them a look that _dared_ them to defy me, even if I knew they would want food anytime. Naruto stood from the couch, fist pumping with a fox-like grin, chanting ramen. I sighed as Sasuke walked over to me, Kiba slapping the blonde over the head, instantly causing the said blonde cease his ramen chant.

"We're getting _real_ food, idiot." Kiba commented, looking down at Naruto who was currently rubbing the back of his head and glaring at the Inuzuka.

"Ramen _is_ real food!" Naruto protested, basically chest thrusting at his first rival. Kiba scoffed as Sasuke grabbed onto my hand, standing extremely close to me. I didn't mind. Somehow he calmed me down when I was in bad moods.

"Whatever, idiot. I don't know how you're still alive, only eating ramen for breakfast, lunch and dinner." Kiba replied, walking towards us in a dismissive manner. The blonde groaned in annoyance. I decided to ignore them and turned to walk to the front door. They'd follow. I gently pulled the little Uchiha along, who was rather withdrawn and probably deep in thought and memories. I've probably mentioned this before, but he's handling it so well, I expected...I don't know...something like he was still in shock and unable to comprehend, but that wasn't the case. He cried so many times, but he was still able to express his emotions properly. It's safe to say that I'm proud of him.

I drowned out the ongoing argument of ramen being a real food by the two loud-mouths. We left my house only a few minutes ago, but here I figured they would've dropped it once we left the house. I was wrong. A sigh escaped me, and Sasuke's grip tightened slightly. I glanced down to him, but his face was concealed by his raven hair. Was he still deep in thought? I was about to ask him when some female voice called out to the Uchiha.

"Sasuke-kun!"

I looked up, slowly reducing my walk to a simple stop when I realized that the one who spoke was Haruno Sakura. Naruto and Kiba were too absorbed with their conversation that they literally bumped into Sasuke and I. I turned back, giving them an annoyed look as they rubbed their faces. They groaned and muttered under their breaths.

"Haruno...-san?" Sasuke looked up, giving the painfully bright pink-haired girl a look of confusion. I wanted to growl, to tell her to piss off, not because she was Sakura, but because I was in a bad mood, and it wasn't exactly best day for my little Uchiha to be bombarded with puppy love and adoration.

The little girl quickly ran over to us from where she was when she called out to her _beloved_ Sasuke-_kun_. I shivered. I never used suffixes. I used to, at the beginning of my ninja life, but I got used to not doing it. I cringed at how repulsed I was by _mentally_ saying it. I'm so weird.

I heard Kiba nudge Naruto. "Hey~, look. It's your precious cherry blossom." Kiba teased, I could feel the teasing grin plastered on his face. I admit, I was grinning too. All of us knew of the blonde's crush on the pink-haired girl. Why did he have a crush on her? 'She's really pretty.' The idiot replied.

"Shut up, dog!" Naruto hissed in hushed whispers. He probably nudged the Inuzuka in the gut, because I heard a grunt of pain from behind me. I snickered lightly, Sakura stopping less than a metre in front of us, and leaning more towards Sasuke. She basically ignored us.

"I'm so surprised to see you out here, Sasuke-kun!" She chirped with such enthusiasm. It kind of hurt. "Did...did you want to hang out?" She asked not even five seconds after her first sentences. She went from chirpy to bashful like that. The power of women. I looked to the one she was addressing, and he was staring at her with a look I knew well. It was the 'What-the-actual-fuck?' look. I let myself smirk-grin at the amusing expression whenever someone else had it.

"Uh..." Sasuke was dumbfounded, to say the least. He had no idea what to say to the girl. She fidgeted and blushed, looking at her feet and waiting in response. I had the urge to punch something.

"Ugh! Why does Sasuke-teme always get the girl! First, Kuroki-chan and now Sakura-chan!" It was only moments after the damned blonde stated his opinion in horror that I had turned and kicked him upside the head without breaking my grip on the Uchiha's hand. The Kyuubi-jailer flew into the Inuzuka, who shouted in shock. They both fell to the ground with a loud thud.

"Ooow~! Dammit, Kuroki-chan!" Naruto whined as he clutched his aching head, a rather large lump forming rapidly. I had to refrain from laughing right there and then. "What the hell was that for?!"

Kiba growled as he pushed Naruto off him, sitting up with a scowl as he shook the dirt out of his messed up hair. "It's because you said Sasuke-kamo always gets the girl like Kuro-chan and Haruno-san are objects!" Kiba explained in annoyance, muttering insults as he got up and dusted himself off. "It's your fault for getting kicked in the head and flying into me!" He flicked the blonde's forehead, who reeled back at the impact, still on the ground. We all basically ignored the looks and gazes people were giving us, especially Naruto. I actually heard some people say; "Serves him right to get kicked in the head." or "That brat is lucky that that girl doesn't kill him, if only though." I sneered at them, and they seemed to back up rather quickly.

What adult is afraid of a ten-year-old? Well, a ninja-in-training ten-year-old who can actually kill normal people like them. Yeah...I can see why. I turned back, finally remembering the pinkette. She looked as dumbfounded as last time something similar happened. Her eyes were wide as she looked at the blonde who was probably rubbing that massive lump on the side of his head. She then gulped and turned to me, soon formally bowing in front of me. "G-Good afternoon, Kuroki-chan!" She greeted hastily, as if she were to be punished if she wasn't polite. What now? I gave her a strange look, and Sasuke snickered lightly, which I'm sure made the pinkette go pink in the face. I should throw her in some black dye.

I nudged Sasuke lightly, who glanced up at me, I smirked slightly and held the hand he held up. He blushed, but reluctantly let go. God, he's so cute. "Head up, Pinky. If you're going to hang with us, there's got to be some rules." I stated like we were a gang. We kind of were, but not like my old life. The pinkette stood back up to her full height, her bright emerald eyes shining with curiosity, eagerness and a spot of fear. The sun did compliment her petite form though, I'll admit, even if her brightness pisses me off. I'm a dark person by default. Oh, god. Was that a pun?

"First. Raise your hand if you approve of Haruno Sakura joining, if she accepts the terms and follows them." I announced to the brats of my little group. Naruto instantly raised his hand straight in the air; a strange grin mixed with that fox-like expression plastered on his face kind of creeped me out. Kiba shrugged and raised his hand in a half-assed manner. Sasuke was the one who seemed skeptical. Understandable. When I looked to the young Haruno, she seemed a little dejected that her beloved was the only one who didn't approve.

"Well, I'll have to explain the terms to you. But we're in the middle of the street and I'm starving. Follow us." I ordered, stepping forward and trudging to my destination. The boys followed without question.

"Hai, Kuroki-chan!" Sakura almost yelled as a soldier would. She extravagantly bowed in front of me and began to follow. I grinned a little. I may actually like her a little more.

* * *

Well. The dango shop was the closest place to eat, so we chose to eat here. Sakura actually seemed happy about it, Naruto and Kiba weren't minding, but Sasuke dreaded the place.

"I...I don't want to eat here..." Sasuke stated softly, stepping back and looking a little ashamed for not wanting to. The blonde was about to insult his rival, but the other rival slapped a hand over his lips, reminding the daft Uzumaki that they were there to cheer him up, not piss him off. This worked pretty well, and I was surprised that the Inuzuka actually had common sense and logic. Sakura looked disappointed, but refused to say anything. It was likely she knew nothing of his clan's predicament.

I sighed, pushing the little Uchiha's shoulder, throwing him off balance and about ready to fall. Before he could though, I grabbed the hand that was closest to me and pulled him back up, causing him to bump into me. The others looked confused, and I waved a dismissive hand in there face. "I didn't want to bend down and grab his hand."

"You're...joking, right?" Naruto asked as if I said I was going to marry the Hokage. I shivered. That's a horrible example.

Kiba sighed. "You're lazier than Shikamaru sometimes. It's scary."

"Tch. Whatever. You guys head on in while I take this brat to get some Omusubi." I began to pull the Uchiha with me to the place they sold his favourite food. I could hear Sakura's small whine of protest, but I chose to ignore it. Before I was too far to hear them, I could hear Naruto's enthusiasm of being with his crush and Kiba complaining about being a third-wheel, then the village's residents drowned out their voices.

I looked around, trying to look past all the adult's tall forms. They're starting to piss me off now. "Where the hell is that damn shop?" I asked, more to myself in frustration than to Sasuke. I actually kind of forgot I was pulling him along, even though our hands were intertwined.

"Kuroki-chan. It's over there." Sasuke responded in a soft voice, the crowd almost cancelling my receiving of his words. I glanced at him, and he was pointing to our mid-right. My eyes followed to where he was pointing, and I saw a shop that had the picture of Sasuke's favourite food on it. I cheered, pushing my way through the annoying crowd to quickly get to the place I had been searching for ten minutes,.

"God, I love you, Sasuke!" I grinned back at him, rather happy that he found that godforsaken place. I realized what I just blabbered out, and saw that Sasuke's eyes widened, that dark blush that took his face was something I had gotten used to. He frowned and looked down, still blushing, but he was pouting.

"Don't make my heart beat so fast, Kuroki...it hurts to know you only love me as a brother..." He was basically mumbling, but since we had just entered the rice ball shop, I could hear him a lot better. I frowned a little bit in regret.

"Sorry, Sasuke." I apologised genuinely, using my other hand to lightly mess up his hair. He frowned just a little bit more and looked up at me. "But you know...I could fall for you."

The little Uchiha's eyes widened. "W-what?"

I turned and let my other hand drop to my side, the other still holding firmly onto Sasuke's. I lead him to the counter, it was tall, but the server was tall and could see us easily. My cheeks were heating up a little, and I refused to look back at him. That last part wasn't for his ears. "Kuroki-chan...What did you say?" Sasuke asked behind me, tightening his grip on my hand and causing me to stop and look back at him with a half-annoyed, half-embarrassed expression. He had to dramatically gasp, didn't he?

"I said I could fall for you, alright." I repeated, using my fingers as bristles for a comb and running it through my hair. I was embarrassed enough that it slipped out and now even more than I repeated it for him to actually hear. Even if there weren't many people in the shop, they were curious that two children came in, and now the women giggled softly, stating how cute we were together. Great.

Sasuke stepped a little closer, my eyes shifting back to him. He was so close to my face right now, and I blinked a few times to make sure my eyes didn't just zoom into his face. "Seriously?" He asked.

"Gah! Yes. I could." I replied, now frustrated with myself. "It won't be easy though, I'm not the type to easily swoon over you just because you're cute."

"Ah, yeah bu-" The raven-haired boy started, but was soon cut off by a much deeper, manlier voice.

"Sorry to interrupt kids, but is there something you'd like?"

I turned and looked up; the one who had spoken was the man behind the counter, an amused smirk gracing his youthful features. I could tell he was already amused by his tone. I frowned. "We'd like a six-pack of omusubi with okaka and tomatoes." I requested in a kind of professional way. The man chuckled lightly as he scribbled down my order on his notepad and moved to get it.

"I'll be right back, love birds." He winked at us as he disappeared from our view. I heard more of the guests in the shop giggle softly again.

I lightly glared back at Sasuke, who was red all over, looking down with such embarrassment. I must look exactly like him though. "Your fault." I turned back.

"Not my fault." Sasuke retorted, but I didn't look back at him. "You're the one who said you could fall in love with me."

"Could." I replied.

"Should."

I was about to retort but the man behind the counter was back. He grinned down at us, reaching over the counter to pass the pack of omusubi to me. I released Sasuke's hand to grab the pack. "How much?" I asked.

The man chuckled. "For you two, I'll be kind today and give it to you for free." He smirked at us. "I always enjoy seeing youthful love."

I had slapped the pack of omusubi against the Uchiha's chest, his hands quickly wrapping around it as I let go to prevent it from dropping. We were almost back at the dango shop, but I had avoided holding his hand. I was pissed off that I was embarrassed.

"I love you."

I stopped dead in my tracks. Blinking a few times, I slowly turned to face the Uchiha. He was looking at me with a serious expression, only a light tinge of pink tainting his pale cheeks. I was taken aback by the random confession.

"I know that." I replied, about to turn and continue walking.

"I'm going to make you mine." He announced with an even voice. I was shocked really. We weren't being pushed by passing citizens, as it wasn't as crowded anymore and we were given a bit of space.

"What...?" I asked, befuddled greatly. What was up with him?

"I'll make you love me. I'll become stronger. For you, for Itachi-nii..." He stepped closer. "For myself as well. You...You may think I just have a childish crush on you, but I don't." The look of fire in the Uchiha's onyx eyes was surprising, but an unknown feeling gathered inside me. I waited for him to continue, because there was bound to be more to his small speech.

"If it weren't for you...I would've ended up hating Itachi-nii...I would've strived to kill him for the revenge of my clan...It...It doesn't seem right. I can imagine it; I can imagine myself growing up with the resolve to kill my only brother..." I am currently so proud of Sasuke right now. He figured it out, he knew. I felt so relieved that he realized what I was trying to achieve, although I did question his large vocabulary. He was only eight and knew some pretty big words.

He used the hand that wasn't holding onto his omusubi to cup my cheek. He looked up at me. There was admiration, kindness, relief...love in his young eyes. He was on the verge of tears, and the liquid brimming his water line shone under the sun's warm rays. "I can't thank you enough...for being there, for caring about me, for letting me feel for you." His first tear overwhelmed the gathering liquid in his eye and raced down his cheek. I blinked, bringing a hand up and using my thumb to wipe that single tear away. His eyes slightly twitched under my touch, but he didn't move away.

Perhaps there were people watching us. Or maybe they were ignoring us. Right now, though, I really couldn't give a shit. "Sasuke..." I started softly, gently putting my hand over the one on my cheek. Gently removing it from my face, I entangled my fingers with his. "I've told you time, and time again that I will always be there for you. No matter what." I smirk-grinned at him, and in a matter of seconds, the tears ran down from his eyes in a waterfall. He pulled his hand from mine to rub his face free from the tears. I let him, and waited for him to finish. When he was, he smiled brightly. My heart clenched at the sight. It was so genuine, so innocent.

"Thank you."

We had walked in silence the rest of the way back to the dango shop. It wasn't awkward or tense; it was a comfortable silence, as words were not needed. We walked through the entrance of the shop Sakura and the others were at, and almost immediately spotted the three sitting at a booth all the way in the back of the shop. Sakura's hair is going to cause a lot of shit if she goes on assassination missions. People will be like 'I saw a flash of pink! It was so bright, like a jigglypuff coming out of nowhere!' I openly snickered at the thought, holding my stomach and forcing myself to keep walking towards them, albeit a little weirdly. I felt a few glances, but currently couldn't bother with their opinions. Imagine Pokemon and Naruto mixing into one. Oh, god. There would be chaos.

"You guys are back!" Naruto's voice exclaimed loudly, knocking me out of my snicker fit and sobering. I sighed deeply as a further step to calm myself. Naruto was enthusiastically waving over at us, Kiba beside him and Sakura on the other side of the table. She turned and her eyes brightened at the sight of her crush. I could practically feel the discomfort of the Uchiha leak from his small form. Really, I wouldn't want much to do with her, but she can be tolerable. I would like her a lot better if she just stopped being a drone and followed everyone's examples and made herself fawn over the uninterested brat we call Sasuke.

"Hey." I greeted nonchalantly, waving my hand towards Sakura, an indication of her to scoot the fuck over. She obeyed silently, moving over and letting me sit, Sasuke soon following me and sitting to my left.

"You guys already ordered." I stated absent-mindedly, looking at the sweets on the table. Kiba and Naruto had plates of coloured dango, whilst Sakura had a bowl of Anmitsu. Sasuke placed his pack of Omusubi on the table and opened it, taking one and biting into it. I leisurely leaned over and snagged some dango from Kiba's plate. The normal colour of dangos would be pink, green and white, but the one I was holding was blue, purple and green. Different. I like it.

"Scab." Kiba called lazily, not minding all that much.

"Scabs beg for whatever they want, I, on the other hand, just take it." I retorted calmly, dipping the tip of the dango in the syrup they gave as a bonus. "Therefore, not a scab." I shifted my eyes and stared at the Inuzuka as I ate a single dango ball whole. It was chewy, though the inside was creamy, like a paste. The syrup made it sweeter, which I liked. A lot. Sweets were amazing. I wasn't sure how Sasuke couldn't like sweet things.

"So, should I do that often?" Naruto asked with curiosity, he always liked to follow some of my examples. I was the 'cool and awesome' rival apparently. Kiba was the 'dirty dog' rival and Sasuke was 'duck bastard'. I snorted lightly. Duck bastard.

"No. Unless you want to get beat, no. I can do it because I have the skills to be able to handle the menial occurring if the people I take what I want from don't like it and want to 'punish' me." I explained, smirk-grinning slightly. I moved to dip my dango in the syrup again, just as Sakura began to meekly speak.

"U-Um...Kuroki-chan?" Sakura stuttered, I glanced to her. "About your...terms?"

"Ah." I leaned back a little bit, biting the rest of my dango and chewing on the stick out of boredom.

"First rule; No fangirling over Sasuke or any of the brats in our group." Sakura's eyes widened a fraction, and then she looked offended.

"I am not a fangirl!" She protested.

"You are." The four of us deadpanned in sync, though each of our tones was different. Mine was indifferent, Kiba's was annoyed, Naruto was sulking but at least he admitted the truth, Sasuke was uncomfortable with a fangirl so close. The pinkette gasped dramatically.

"You broke off your friendship with your best friend, Ino, for a boy who had no interest in you, and probably never will, sad to say." I pointed out.

"You have hearts in your eyes and I think you drool whenever you look at Sasuke-kamo."

"They're right, Sakura-chan...You're a fangirl."

One would think we were bullying her, but we were just giving her the evidence that she was, in fact, a fangirl. The girl moaned in disapproval, looking at her lap but no longer denying her habits. "I really am..."

"Exactly. None of that. It'll piss some of us off and make some other uncomfortable. Maybe both." Sakura looked up at me, a sort of assertive look on her face.

"Alright. The others?" I grinned a little.

"Uh...okay. So, no fangirling, no fawning, no trying to get closer to Sasuke-kun, rekindle my friendship with Ino, worry less about love and more about school and friends, no bringing female friends over to the group for fear of fangirl attacks..." Pinky repeated the rules to us, surprisingly remembering all of them. I had actually forgotten half of them, partially because I made them up and partially because the brats were giving their own rules out. I really had no idea how many there were, but she was smart, she'd know to listen to them if she really was scared of me. I wasn't going to beat her up if she didn't listen, but it helps when you have a bit of influence, good or bad.

My train of thought was broken when I heard the loud snores of a certain blonde. His mess of blonde spikes was against the table, Naruto's face turned away from my view. Kiba was lying back, probably thinking about Akamaru. He was sick and couldn't come out apparently.

"Dobe's asleep?" Sasuke asked, leaning over and poking the blonde with a dango stick. Naruto didn't even flinch when the sharp tip poked into his head. Was he that hard-headed?

"Seems that way." I replied, pulling on one of his hairs with a bored expression.

"You're basically saying; 'Stop being yourself', Kuroki-chan..." Sakura voiced, first starting out confident, but quickly losing it when I shifted my gaze to her.

"Is that really you? Or someone who just wants to fit in and follows everyone else?" I asked, yawning. How long had we been here?

Sakura seemed surprised by the questions, and stared at the table with furrowed brows. She was thinking, then. "I...I don't know."

"Haruno-san..." Sasuke addressed the pinkette, who instantly had her head snapped in his direction. I backed away in the slightest. Doesn't that fucking hurt?

"Y-Yes, Sasuke-kun...?"

"I...would like you better if you were to be your own person, instead of some mindless fangirl..."

For the umpteenth time, Pinky gasped softly. "I-I..." She looked to her lap. I glanced at Sasuke, who glanced back with a little confusion, then all of a sudden the girl's head, again, _snapped_ up. This chick has some good bones. "I'll do my best to be my own person! If you'll have me, I'll try not to disappoint you all!" She bowed from her spot at us, in which I looked at her in mild surprise.

"Heh. I might actually start to like you, Pink Stuff." Kiba commented, a toothy grin decorating his marked face as he sat up. Said Pinky blushed at what I assumed to be a compliment.

I smiled. "Alright, welcome to the gang."

* * *

Well. It only took a goddamn week for me to finally get this chapter out! How did I do? Was it realistic enough for you guys? Sasuke should still be grieving and all, but Naruto and Kiba seem to know how to get people out of their depressive shells and be a little more expressive. As for the Sakura part, well, I dislike how vain and self-centered she was in the beginning, not to mention a little bit too useless. I've decided that I'll gradually build her character to a more likeable version, as I have done with our beloved Duck Bastard. Would it surprise you guys if I told you I kind of dislike Sasuke with a passion? Like, I don't hate him, but it's close. I really only decided on a pairing with him and Kuroki because he wasn't like he is now when he was a kid. Makes things more realistic, and easier. Anyways. Thanks for reading, and be sure to leave a review. Give me the power! This isn't even the beginning yet. It's five in the morning, hoorah. School is for sleep, not learning. Mwahaha.


	10. What's this feeling?

So I've been getting requests to type some chapters in another person's view. Personally, I wanted to do it, but wasn't going to unless you guys asked, and you did, so a chapter with another POV will probably be around every ten chapters, could not happen and I'll do it whenever it feels right. Everything changes. Thanks for the support, you all. By the way, I'll be retyping chapters one, two and maybe three, because, well...They're shit. Seriously. I'll inform you guys if I ever do get up to it, though. I'm sorry I'm a little late with this chapter. I get distracted, shit happens with life, all that. Also, it's hard trying to get the entire chapters through Sasuke's perspective with some formerly unknown scenes on Kuroki's and Sasuke's growing friendship to...love? It's a short chapter, sadly.

* * *

The first day I met her was when she came to the Uchiha compound with Itachi-nii.

They were walking side by side, and were glancing at each other they had a conversation I couldn't hear.

This girl was kind of scary, she had scars already and she was probably a few years older than he was. Her skin was a little uncommon, but he didn't mind, unless it was blue. She was naturally dark, including the clothes she wore. But her appearance wasn't what scared me so much.

It was her eyes.

No matter how much I looked at the almost black orbs, they had no reflection, like someone who was dead or their eyes were made of glass. But even glass reflects, right? What did she want with my Itachi-nii?

"Nii-san!" I called, running up to them from the main house, and my brother smiled warmly at me as I ran, stopping and kneeling on one knee and spreading his arms out for me to run into. I jumped into his embrace, and he chuckled at my tight hug, wrapping his arms around me. I felt safe, and I grinned as an effect from loving my brother so much. I really was going to become just like him and dad!

Then I remembered that girl.

As Itachi-nii stood up, towering over me, I grabbed his pant leg and hid behind him, frowning at the strange girl I'd never met before. She was looking at me, her non-reflective eyes staring into my onyx ones. I couldn't read her eyes, they showed me nothing. It scared me.

"Sasuke, this is Kuroki-chan." Itachi-nii introduced the scary girl. Her name was Kuroki? I was suddenly in front of her now, my brother's hands planted on my shoulders to stop me from running away. I hesitantly looked up at the girl called Kuroki. She grinned, although it was a little strange, something between a smirk and a grin. This girl is so weird.

"Hey, there." She greeted, giving me a small wave. Her voice wasn't like the other girls I met...somehow it was a lot deeper, yet still high-pitched. I frowned a little and looked down, fidgeting.

"Hi..." I replied reluctantly, what did she want with Itachi-nii?

"Alright, enough with the introductions. Let me see how your training is going." Itachi-nii said, releasing me. I whirled around and grinned up at my big brother.

"Okay! I'm a lot better at throwing shurikin now!" I boasted, wanting to show off to my brother.

"Shuriken, you mean?" Kuroki-san pointed out. I looked to her, but she was looking at a tree. I pouted, not liking to be corrected.

"Right." I admitted, my tone changing whenever I talked to her, but I quickly became a lot happier when talking with my brother. I grabbed his hand and began to pull him to the main house, an amused smile on his face as he let me drag him along, Kuroki-san following. "Let's go! I want to show you how good I am!"

We were in the indoor training area inside the main house, because it was really big, we could fit one in. There were real weapons on the racks, but Itachi-nii and my mother said not to touch them just yet, so they let me use fake ones but they weighed the same as a real one. Itachi-nii and that girl, Kuroki-san were watching me as I threw the shuriken at the target, which was a stuffed sack barely making out a human shape. I threw three of them, one after the other. I had hit the sack where the large target point had been twice, but just grazed the shoulder of it with the third. I was a little disappointed with that.

I heard clapping, and I had expected to see Itachi-nii be the one doing the action, but it was that strange girl. She wore that strange smirk-grin and was clapping in approval. I blinked at her, obviously confused with how she reacted.

"That's pretty amazing for a four-year-old, isn't Itachi?" She complimented, which confused me even more. Her head tilted so she could look at Itachi-nii, and my eyes followed hers, landing on my big brother who was looking at me with a small smile. Knowing that meant I had improved, I grinned brightly.

"Expected from my little brother." He praised, and I was beaming at the comment. I ran up to him, quickly jumping up and grasping his shirt, his hands quickly picking me up before I fell back to the ground. I giggled as I nuzzled his neck.

I'm not sure how long we'd been in the training area, but Itachi-nii gave me pointers on how to improve, and I gladly soaked in all the knowledge. I found out that Kuroki-san actually knew of all the things Itachi-nii were saying. I didn't expect her to. I was even more surprised when Itachi-nii said that they often trained together. When the sun was about to set, Kuroki-san looked out the window and gasped.

"Motherfuck! I'm going to be late!" She exclaimed in a panicked tone. I blinked.

"Motherf-" I was about to repeat the word she said in confusion, but Itachi-nii quickly slapped a hand over my mouth. I looked up at him, and he was smiling softly at me.

"Kuroki-chan has a habit of...saying bad things." Itachi-nii told me. "Please don't repeat them."

I nodded, and he dropped his hand. I had to make sure not to say them, so Itachi-nii will be proud. I looked back over to the strange girl, and to my surprise she was halfway out the window and ready to jump out.

"Sorry, guys, I have to go. Later!" She called, giving us a small wave before disappearing from the window. I heard Itachi-nii sigh.

"Why was she here, Itachi-nii?" I asked, pouting a little. I was afraid she'd occupy more of his time and leave me alone.

He smiled at me, reaching down and ruffling my hair. I gasped and immediately tried to pry his hand from my now messed up hair. "Kuroki-chan is a nice girl, even if she's a little strange." He replied. Strange was an understatement. "Get along with her; she has a fiery yet somehow lazy personality." Fiery yet lazy? Yeah, this girl was definitely the strangest girl I've met.

Over the weeks, Kuroki-chan had come to visit more often. I slowly got used to her, but she always surprised me with new words or actions, ones that Itachi-nii told me to never copy. I was training outside, throwing the fake shuriken at a target specially made from weapon throwing. I got a lot, but missed a lot too. Itachi-nii said that he had to go on a mission, and asked Kuroki-chan to watch over my progress in his absence.

I was uncomfortable, even if I was able to now call her Kuroki-chan instead of Kuroki-san. Even after these couple of weeks, she still kind of scared me, and it was affecting how I was when throwing shuriken.

"Sasuke quit being distracted." Her voice suddenly said, but it sounded too close to me, causing me to whirl around in a panic. I saw her, standing behind where I once was before I backed up a few steps.

"Don't scare me like that, Kuroki-chan!" I exclaimed, holding a hand to my heart in hopes of trying to calm it. The strange girl snickered lightly.

"My bad. But I mean it, you should stop being distracted." She said after calming from her snickers. "Just because Itachi isn't here and I'm the one watching over you doesn't mean you can start slacking off and letting yourself get distracted, you hear me?" I blinked up at her. Then I frowned.

"I wasn't getting distracted." I replied, crossing my arms in defiance. She simply smirk-grinned at me.

"How about I show you how to throw three shuriken at the same time?" She offered, moving to pick up the fake shuriken. My eyes widened, and I dropped my arms.

"No way! You can do that?!"

"Yeah. It's not so hard once you learn how to do it." She replied, moving next to me, three shuriken in her hand.

"You see how there's three targets in a vertical line?" Kuroki-chan asked, I looked and nodded. I'd been throwing the shuriken at the lowest one.

I was waiting for her to reply, but all of a sudden, her arm shot out and three things zipped through the air and embedded themselves in the targets. One shuriken in the middle of each target, perfectly aligned! I gasped in awe, there's no way! They were fake shuriken!

"I guess I threw them with such force they were able to embed themselves in the targets." Kuroki-chan explained, scratching the back of her head with a slightly awkward grin.

"That..." I started, Kuroki-chan looking over to me and waiting. "That was so cool!" I exclaimed, grinning and grasping her hands and trying to pull her around in circles. I giggled.

"Teach me, Kuroki-chan! Teach me!"

Kuroki-chan smirk-grinned. "Fine, but don't be surprised when they don't stay on the target."

I nodded enthusiastically. The strange girl called Kuroki-chan was actually really cool!

"I have to go now, Sasuke." Kuroki-chan said, I looked to her, and she was looking towards the sky. The sun was setting, and the sky was mixed with fiery colours. I pouted. I didn't want her to go.

"Okay..." I replied, I wanted to argue, but she probably had to go and do her training too...she turned to me and smirk-grinned.

"Don't worry, I'll be back tomorrow." She assured me. I blushed and looked away, I didn't want to make it seem like I wanted her to stay, even if I did. "See that grassy hill over there?" She asked, and I looked to where she was pointing. There was a large grassy hill not too far from here. It looked big enough to overlook Konoha.

"Meet me there in the morning, okay?"

I nodded with a smile. "Okay!"

* * *

I had begun to see Kuroki-chan as a big sister, someone else I could look up to, even if she was a little weird. We always met at the grassy hill, I had even told Itachi-nii about it, and whenever he could, he'd come with me to meet up with her. Sometimes I would get sick and be unable to go, which made me really upset, but my big brother said he'd visit her for me. That made me happy.

I had known her for a year now, I think. She's already someone really close to me, and she's helped me fill the gap of loneliness whenever Itachi-nii wasn't around. There were some days when neither of them would be able to watch me train, and sometimes I would feel really lonely. But I still tried my best, so I could show them just how much I improved.

One time, Itachi-nii took me on a mission to catch a wild boar. I had been ecstatic, and he gave me a bow. He told me not to hit any vital points, but I couldn't even hit it at all. I was really upset about it, but we eventually defeated the boar. I said sorry a bunch of time, and Itachi-nii said that I needed to train more.

Kuroki-chan and I were walking around the compound, to where, I'm not sure. She said she was taking me to some place for training. I felt curious about something, and it had been bugging me for a while.

"Kuroki-chan." I called her name softly, looking up at her with curious eyes. She grinned.

"Mm?"

I started to fidget a bit, feeling myself start to blush; I looked down at the ground. I was unsure how to ask. I could hear her half-snicker, but she quickly stopped herself, I frowned, looking up with an annoyed expression. She was having fun with my awkwardness. "Are you a genin?" I asked, finally.

At first, she seemed a little surprised by the question, and then she averted her eyes to a nearby tree and waved a dismissive hand in my direction. She had a habit of doing that. "Nah, I'm at the level though." She replied with that strange grin of hers. "I'm entering the academy next year."

I was surprised, really. Kuroki-chan was going to the academy the same time as me? I soon smiled up at her. "I'm entering then too!" I exclaimed with happiness that Kuroki-chan, who was like my big sister, was going to be going to the academy with me. But then I frowned, looking down at her stomach in thought. "But aren't you seven? You should be in the academy or graduated by now." I asked, it was strange; she should've been in the academy last year.

We had stopped on a small hill within the compound. She moved to sit down, soon sighing and looking to the sky. I decided to follow her actions, and sat beside her, bringing my legs to my chest and wrapping my arms around them as I looked to her with curiosity. She glanced to me. "I decided to start later. My parents train me and teach me way more than what the Academy can do, so an extra two years of more training would help me more." She explained to me, suddenly frowning for some reason. I turned and looked to the grass.

"That makes sense..." I commented just barely above a whisper. But if she had gone last year, she would've been close to graduating, and she'd be a genin soon enough, but she chose not to. Does she have no one she wants to beat; does she not want to become stronger so she can prove herself? I want to be able to surpass Itachi-nii, as much as I love him, so my father will finally notice me. But...argh!

"Wha-?! Hey!" I shrieked, scowling as I removed Kuroki-chan's hand from my now messed up hair. She snickered. I was attempting to fix it back up when she suddenly started to full on laugh. I glared at her, she's laughing at me! I pushed her, and she fell easily, holding her stomach as if it hurt too much to laugh.

"Not funny." I pouted; I could feel myself blush, so I looked away from her. She went silence for a few moments, so I turned back to her, and she was looking at me funny. "W-What?" I stuttered, feeling really uncomfortable. She sat up, coming closer to my face. My face felt really hot, and I tried leaning back, but she suddenly grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me to her. She was hugging me, and I started squirming uncomfortably.

"Kuroki-chan?" I asked, my heart was beating really fast. What's happening?

"One day, you'll overcome the wall that is your brother." Kuroki-chan said, I was a little confused. "One day, you'll be just as talented as your brother." What? Before I could think, she grabbed my shoulders and pushed me back, holding them as she looked in my eyes. I was really surprised with her, but she smiled slightly. Could my face get any hotter? Her smile...

It's so pretty.

Then I frowned, quickly looking to the side. Where did that thought come from? "Of course, I'll always be able to kick your ass."

My eyes snapped towards her, my eyes narrowing in determination. "No way! I won't let you beat me either!" I exclaimed, quickly standing up and pointing at her for...for emphasis! "I'll show you, Kuroki-chan!"

She smirked. "Let's see you try." She stood up, and I had to look up at her because she was taller. I will beat her!

I gradually became a lot closer to Kuroki-chan. She was more than a sister-like person to me, she WAS my sister. The first time I went to visit her home, her mother scared the crap out of me. She was a really pretty woman, her emerald eyes were always shining with life and amusement. Her hugs though...they could kill. Literally. Aonami-san was rather energetic, and Kuroki-chan didn't seem to take after her much except for the dismissive hand gesture they both did. Kuroi-san was the one Kuroki-chan looked more like. They were so alike; one would be a fool not to see the immense similarities. They both had the same skin tone, same eye colour, same spiky black hair and the traditional dark rims of their eyes. Even their personalities were the same, both rather laid-back and easy-going, yet scarily sadistic at the same time.

Whenever I watched Kuroi-san and Kuroki-chan training, they looked like they were ready to kill each other, well, Kuroi-san was obviously holding back, but he still had a look that showed Kuroki-chan was quite the duellist. She was amazing at taijutsu, pretty good at ninjutsu, but she was horrible at genjutsu. It was her greatest weakness. She could barely cast them, and she was easily trapped in them, only when it was a genjutsu with something she obviously wouldn't fall for, like her mother being severely injured and dragging herself towards her child for help, then she could break it. Kuroi-san normally always had to punch her to get her out of it, and I was really surprised every time, because they looked _painful_, and yet Kuroki-chan acted as if she was fine! She's really amazing.

Itachi-nii and her were really close too, but I wasn't jealous, we were a family, I believed, and I couldn't really see my big brother with my big sister. He helped me train, and I did get better, now Kuroki-chan also inspiring me to be my best.

Before I knew it, the first day of school came, and I was more than excited, maybe Kuroki-chan would be in my class! The entire way, I was blabbering to Itachi-nii about how awesome it would be for her to be in my class, and he would chuckle and say 'We'll see'. There were so many kids. At first, I wasn't really perturbed by them, but soon, all these girls kept looking at me with a strange look, and it was uncomfortable. People were whispering about me as I walked up to the bulletin board. I looked up, trying to find my name. I eventually found it, but I didn't see Kuroki-chan's name. I felt really disheartened about that. Itachi-nii said he had to go and would see me at orientation, giving me a hug and a smile before I made my way to my class.

Now I felt even more uncomfortable. I shifted in my seat as all these girls were crowding around, speaking too many sentences altogether and giving me googly eyes. One had bright pink hair, but she was one of the lesser aggressive ones, another had some kind of fan-styled hair, and I could practically hear Kuroki-chan's insane laughter about the girl's hair. I sighed. I felt really alone. During lunch times, the girls would try to sit with me, and I had to constantly run away from them.

Ever since school had started, I rarely saw Kuroki-chan anymore. I knew she was at school, probably hanging out with that dog boy, Kiba. I don't know why, but I felt this pain in my chest whenever I thought of them hanging out together. I didn't like it. She did come around sometimes, and I was always excited, but it wasn't as much as she used to. I did work on improving my skills, but my father still had no intention of even glancing at me. It was...painful.

One lunch time, when I was running from the mob of insane girls, I bumped into some kid with blinding blonde hair. We both fell to the ground and rubbed our sore areas, groaning. "Watch where you re going!" He exclaimed.

"Shut up! You don't have a bunch of crazy girls after you!" I retorted childishly, and we glared at each other, keeping eye contact as we stood up. Our eyes narrowed as we each took a 'threatening' step forward.

"Serves you right!"

"How, huh?!" We both gripped the collars of our shirts and had a close glaring competition, we were making strange growling and groaning sounds for tension.

Then I heard those stupid fangirls, again! "Ugh!"

I pushed the blonde kid away, stepping past him to continue running away. "Dobe!" I called back. He growled behind me.

"TEME!" He yelled loudly as I distanced myself from him and the girls who were catching up to me.

That's how I met Uzumaki Naruto.

Time flew, and I was seven already. Naruto and I somehow became rivals since our first meeting, but I was always smug about the fact that I was always better.

But right now, I was training like usual, when my father suddenly came up to me.

"Sasuke." I turned to my father with a surprised and curious look; he was looking as stern and cold as ever, making me gulp when he was staring into my soul.

"Yes, father?" I asked, thankfully not stuttering.

"It is time for you to learn the Great Fireball Jutsu." He stated with that stern voice of his, and I gasped. No way!

"Really?!" I was ecstatic! Was my father finally recognising me?

"Yes. Take your stance now and do it."

Huh? Now? "But father, I've never done it before." I replied, I didn't know how to even channel chakra yet. Father sighed.

"Alright, I'll teach you. Come here." He stepped down the mini set of stairs leading to the outdoor training area, and I immediately ran up to him.

"Ready?" Father asked after teaching me how to do the Great Fireball Jutsu. I nodded, bending my knees and making the signs with my hands, I took a deep breath, I can do this!

I only produced a small flame with some pathetic smoke behind it. I cringed at how horrible it was.

I heard a sigh, and looked to its owner. "Itachi was able to achieve it on his first try when he was your age. I'm disappointed, Sasuke." He couldn't even look at me and he turned, his back retreating from my view and soon disappearing within the main house walls. I blinked away the forming tears, rubbing my eyes to help. My chest hurt, I wanted to cry. Why couldn't I be like Itachi-nii?

The next day, I want up to the grassy hill where I usually went to meet up with Kuroki-chan. She would always be here whenever I come up, and I wanted to talk to her...Itachi-nii was busy and couldn't talk, even though he wanted to. I sat with my legs brought up to my chest, hugging myself tightly as I stared sadly at the swaying green grass. I was never good enough for father...I couldn't do anything that he wanted me to do.

"Miss me?"

I jumped back, my hands unfolding from my legs to support me as I leaned away from the voice that scared the crap out of me. I saw a pair of feet covered in black sandals with their shins wrapped in bandages, and I travelled up to the baggy black pants...the dark hoodie...the visible part of the mesh shirt...the scar on the neck...to the face I missed so much. She was smirk-grinning down at me, and I frowned, feeling my face heat up in embarrassment. I always knew how to make a fool of myself around her.

"You scared me." I mumbled in reply to her unexpected question as she sat in front of me with her legs crossed, the slope of the hill causing her to tilt her head up to face me. She snickered.

"I figured." She stated with amusement lacing her tone, and I lightly glared at her. "What happened with your dad?" She suddenly asked, which through me off, making me blink a few times in confusion. Then I remembered she could read me like a children's book. I hated how she could.

"He tried teaching me the Great Fireball Jutsu..." I started, averting my eyes to the grass, ashamed to look at Kuroki-chan. "I couldn't get it on the first try, and he said Itachi-nii got it on his first try at my age...and that he was disappointed..." I could feel the tears welling up, and I tried blinking them away.

"A week." I glanced to Kuroki-chan, who looked kind of serious.

"What?" I asked, confusion was a natural emotion when around the one and only Kuroki-chan.

"If you keep trying to master it from today onwards, I believe it'll take you a week." She explained, soon smirk-grinning at me.

"Really, Kuroki-chan?" I asked, feeling really embarrassed that she had such faith in me. Then she did something I probably haven't seen for a long time.

She smiled.

It wasn't a grin, or a smirk, not any of them. It was a true smile, maybe not with her teeth showing, but it was a real smile! I felt my heart beat quickening, it was pounding against my rib cage, and I had to resort to pants because the breath was somehow knocked out of me. My heart beat was so loud in my ears; I was hoping she couldn't hear it and tell me to quiet down. I felt my knees trembling, and my whole body heating up. What was this feeling?! She leaned forward, raising a hand and sweeping my bangs away from my forehead and...and...resting hers against mine. She...She...She was so close!

"Are you okay, Sasuke? You're all red?" She asked.

I can't breathe! I feel light-headed. She's so close! Too close! I think I might pass out soon! W-wait...she...she asked me a question...

"W-...What?" I muttered softly, my mind was in a mess!

"I asked if you were okay."

"I-I...I...I'm...I'm f-fine!" I stuttered out pathetically, quickly scuttling backwards and away from her, leaving her to look at me in confusion.

"Well...I don't believe you...but I have to go. I'll see you later, okay?" She asked casually, standing up and brushing off the dirt that gathered to her clothes. I nodded meekly. I don't think I could form words at this stage. She smirk-grinned and bent her knees, soon disappearing and leaving a small cloud of dust.

I placed a hand to my heart quickly, trying to calm it down. I was breathing in rasps. What was this feeling? I felt butterflies in my stomach, I felt light-headed. Was something wrong with me?

* * *

A week had passed since that scary event. I asked mum what the feeling was, and she said it happened when you're around someone you loved. That made sense. I must've just been flustered because I rarely saw her smile...but I never reacted that way before. Maybe I didn't love her back then. It put me at ease, to say the least.

"Father."

My father looked to me from the dining table, lowering the newspaper he was intrigued in reading. His eyes were always judging and cold to me...but mum always said that he cared a lot about me. I was still having a hard time believing her though. His silence meant he was listening to me and waiting.

"I've mastered the Great Fireball Jutsu." I reported as seriously as I could. It really did only take me a week to master, which pleased me greatly. I had a bandage on the left side of my cheek, and I felt like I was probably covered in scratches, bruises and dirt. Father's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Oh?" He asked, a tone of mild surprise from him was confusing and rare. I gulped, nodding. He folded his paper, placing it on the table and standing up. "Show me then."

"Kuroki!"

Kuroki-chan turned around from the grassy hill when I called her name; I was running to her with so much energy, my cheeks began to hurt from smiling too much. As soon as I was close enough, I jumped at her, ready to tackle her in joy. She looked a little surprised before quickly catching me and manoeuvring her feet to keep us both upright. I giggled madly in her chest as I tightened my grip on her.

"You seem insanely giddy!" Kuroki-chan exclaimed. I finally managed to tilt my head and look up at her; my smile seemed to be blinding her momentarily.

"I did it! I showed my dad! I was able to do it! Like you said! I could do it in a week!" I announced one after the other without taking a breath, so I was panting pretty hard since I just ran from the Uchiha Compound to here, then yelled my accomplishments.

"No way! Really?! That's awesome!" Kuroki-chan grinned hugging me tightly and chuckling. She let us drop to the floor, both of us now sitting on the hill with giggling moods.

It took us effectively fifteen minutes to calm down, and even longer for me to finish my exciting accomplishment. Kuroki-chan listened to everything, and I knew I was blushing the whole time...but what I really wanted form her...was that smile. I was anticipating it. Then when I finally finished my story, my heart skipped a beat and I felt my face start to warm furiously. There were butterflies in my stomach and I couldn't help but stare helplessly at her smiling. Somehow...the world stopped whenever she smiled. I don't feel like this with Itachi-nii...maybe it's different with big sisters.

"Told you it'd only take you a week." She commented, her smile changing to her casual grin. I finally released the breath that she caused me to hold in, and I grinned nervously at her.

I had no idea that it would only take me a week to fall for her as well, though I had no idea.

* * *

Alright, let me say this; I hate it. So bad. Like holy shit. I think I may have a case of A.D.H.D. Goddammit. I'm sorry for it being so late, and not having that much. I think I'll put Sasuke's POV into two or so chapters instead, seeing as I just can't finish this chapter to how many words I want it in time. I was getting impatient yet I wanted to make it a gradual chapter. Guess it didn't really work . I've had a messed up week, and that may have affected it. Also with Harry Potter. God, Draco is hot, but such a douche. Seriously, anyone seeing a pattern with Sasuke being attractive but a dickhead, and now Draco, who's almost exactly alike in that perspective. I hope that's not my type in real. ANYWAYS. I barely had any reviews for my last chapter, and I'd love it if you followers and favourites would review, because it would help a lot, and I actually feel less reluctant to get distracted and get on with the story. Not enough reviews means less motivation. NOW TELL ME HOW THIS CHAPTER WAS. Please?


	11. Two years and there's progress

I'm really sorry guys. I mean it. I would've been a bit quicker with the updates, but life has been a bitch recently, and I'll have to admit that my inspiration for Naruto has been fading fast because of it. Don't worry about me not continuing, because I will. I definitely will, but my updates won't be as quick anymore. Also, thank you all for reviewing, favouriting and following! There's over one hundred followers now, which, I have to say, is pretty awesome. Also, the reviews are nearing the hundreds, and we've barely even begun the story. Awesome people. So, to make up for my lateness, there's a little bit of an early present for you SasukexKuroki fans, but I'll give you guys the benefit of giving me some 'fluff' ideas between them. So, give me a review on the story once you finish, but add in a scene you'd like to see with them, though only in the story's present time, meaning I can't randomly post a chapter with Sasuke and Kuroki all grown up when they're not even 12-14 yet. So, sorry guys! I am, but you know how life is. Fucks shit up for all of us. I do hope you enjoy, even though it may be a little weird because of the inconsistent typing times I've had. And it's really short because my inspiration is gone. For now.

* * *

"Uh...Kuroki-chan?" A voice called to me. My vision was clouded in darkness, a groan escaping my lips as I weakly protested to open my eyes, my eyelids sealed shut and hurting when I attempt to open them.

"Kuroki-chan. It's lunch time." Another voice informed me, and I reluctantly opened my eyes, squinting and blinking a few times to adjust my vision. I was surrounded by Sakura, Kiba, Shikamaru and Naruto, who were all staring at me. I sat up, yawning and rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

"I'm up. Let's go." I said, standing and and stepping onto the desks, then jumping from each desk to get to the exit of the classroom. It was a hell of a lot quicker than walking.

We all began to walk to our normal lunch area, Naruto making conversation with Kiba, Sakura talking about something to me (I wasn't listening, obviously) and Shikamaru being silent as usual. Over at the large shady tree we all sat at, Choji and Sasuke were already waiting for us, but Sasuke was hiding behind the tree and poking his head out every few seconds to see if he was being followed. When he saw me, his eyes widened and brightened up, seeming to forget the vicious fangirls and sprinting towards me. A grin crept its way to my face.

"Kuroki-chan!" He exclaimed excitedly, jumping up and basically tackling me as he wrapped his arms around me. I automatically wrapped my arms around him and kept us upright.

"Sup, Sasuke?" I asked, finally letting go of him to see his face. He reluctantly did the same, and looked up at me, soon remembering his situation and keeping an eye out.

"Nothing much...just trying to hide from the fangirls..." He replied in a whisper, quickly running back to the tree which Shikamaru had walked to when I was greeting the Uchiha, now sitting next to Choji.

"Hahaha! Teme's so popular, it's a curse!" Naruto laughed at his rival's misfortune. We made our way to the tree.

"Shut up a little, will you, Naruto?" Sakura asked in annoyance, but wasn't shouting like all hell, which I was grateful for. I sat against the tree trunk as usual, Sasuke quickly making his way next to me before anyone else could.

"Sasuke has enough on his plate already without you mocking him, okay?" She explained to the blonde briefly. I was kind of proud of her. It's been three weeks since she's joined, and the group didn't have many problems with her. She even got over that artificial crush she had on Sasuke, making the latter more comfortable around her. Although it took some convincing to get the Nara to comply.

"Getting burned by a girl, huh idiot? You're becoming even more pathetic everyday." Kiba mocked, a toothy grin on his face. Akamaru barked from Kiba's lap. He finally brought the dog to school.

"Agh! Shut up! Kuroki-chan's a girl and you get burned by her all the time!" Naruto exclaimed in protest, throwing his hands up and glaring at his other rival. The rest of us who weren't loud mouths were getting our lunches and putting them in the middle for all of us to share. I yawned as I drowned out their arguing voices.

"I hear that next year, we're going to be in that same class until graduation." Sasuke said softly, grabbing an omusubi and biting into it.

"You mean I might have to be with Kiba and Naruto until graduation?!" I cringed at the thought of having to be in their class for three years straight...is that dango?!

"Sounds troublesome as always." Shikamaru commented, staring up at the leaves that gave us shade from the sun. I quickly grabbed the dango and grinned evilly at it.

"You're going to die, dango. And you're going to taste amazing." I stated with a demonic chuckle, soon devouring the sweet whole. My god! It tastes amazing.

"How come you never gain any weight even though you eat so many sweets all the time?" Sakura asked, an envious look in her eye.

"Because I train." I replied dully. I thought that was obvious.

"I thought you had a brain, Pink Stuff." Kiba teased the pinkette, whose cheeks became bright and growled at the Inuzuka.

"Shut it, Kiba. I have more brains than you." She retorted sharply, making me snicker.

"That's true." Shikamaru agreed, smirking lightly. Choji was digging into the chips he had.

"You wanna go, Pink Stuff?!" Kiba challenged, jutting his fist threateningly toward her. Kiba was brash, and apparently being around me, the only female other than Sakura, he's gotten used to treating the pinkette like a guy. When I glanced to Sakura, she had her eyes closed with an annoyed expression.

"Do you have any idea how to treat a lady?!" Sakura yelled as she rapidly stood up and grabbed the nearest thing, instantly throwing it at the Inuzuka with some impressive speed. A large smacking sound echoed as Kiba was literally thrown back by a water bottle, Akamaru jumping up and successfully landing unharmed. I went into a full blown laughter as I saw Kiba a metre away from him previous spot, his face a little bloody and swollen. Damn fool was knocked out. He was twitching too!

I heard a sigh beside me over my informal laughter, and attempted to calm down. Naruto was having a fit, he was shaking on the ground, his voice louder than the smacking sound, which was fucking loud.

"It's gotten more loud lately." Shikamaru sighed. "Troublesome idiots."

"It's more lively, I think. Having Sakura-chan around may have been a good thing." Choji pointed out softly.

"Yeah. Sakura-chan's not so bad once you get to know her." Sasuke smiled sweetly at the said pinky, who had calmed down and returned to her formal seating position. A light blush tainted her cheeks.

"Thank you, Sasuke." She thanked the Uchiha in a manner that showed us she wasn't obsessed with him anymore. Thank fuck.

"Hey, Sakura-chan. What happened to using honorifics?" Naruto asked after calming down. Instead of how it's normally pronounced, Naruto pronounced honorifics as 'honor-righ-fics'.

"It's pronounced with a short 'i' Naruto." Sakura informed the daft blonde. "And Kuroki-chan said not to use honorifics for you guys."

"So why say Kuroki-'chan'?" Naruto inquired on. I saw the irritation in her features, it made me grin.

"Because Kuroki-chan is my sensei in the art of social skills for boys." Pinkette stated professionally.

"Seriously?" Sasuke asked, a little surprised.

"Why do you think she's no longer a fangirl?" I asked absent-mindedly, deciding to pick at the options our lunches provided. Glancing up at the Pinkette, she was looking down with a darker blush.

"Please don't mention that...I'm so ashamed I was like that only a few weeks ago." She nearly whispered. Yeah, I'd be ashamed too if I acted like fangirl her. Least she won't be as annoying in the future.

"I'll always like you, Sakura-chan!" Naruto beamed proudly, grinning like a goof and scratching the back of his head nervously. I leaned a little closer...yeah, he's blushing.

"Shut up, Naruto!" Sakura scolded, punching the blonde in the shoulder and looking flustered. The rest of us who were conscious could see the chemistry between them, but then what happens with Hinata if they do ever get together?

"If you're not going to eat, then I will."

"Whoa, whoa! Kuroki-chan! Don't eat it all!"

"Serves you right for flirting, Dobe."

"Shut it, Teme! You're always clinging to Kuroki-chan, so you have no say!"

"Shut up! I can be close to the girl I like, can't I?!"

"So he likes you, huh?" I glanced to Shikamaru as I began to eat some shrimp.

"Mm." I replied, getting another one.

"I guessed as much." He commented lazily. "He makes it kind of obvious."

"No way. I had no idea until he told me." I replied, astounded by my dense attitude to romantic feelings.

The damned Nara knew this dense part of me, and smirked. "Sounds like you."

"Pscht. Shut up, will you?" I smirk-grinned.

* * *

"Bye Kuroki-chan! Sasuke!" Sakura waved us goodbye as she walked in the opposite direction of us. We waved back, then turned to walk to the training ground closest to my home.

"She didn't say my name!" Naruto whined dramatically, making a distressed pose whilst walking. Does that make sense?

"Because you're annoying." Sasuke replied with a smug smirk. These days, he's been a bit more reserved than he used to be, not like 'I'm going to take revenge on my brother and be a fucking dick' though.

He's...become a bit more mature in a sense, I think.

"Agh, shut up Teme!" Naruto growled at the Uchiha, glaring at him. "I don't get to live with the girl I love like you!"

I yawned and decided to focus on a bird conveniently flying in the same direction as us.

"What's that got to do with Sakura-chan?" Sasuke retorted calmly, how different.

"I don't know!" The blonde whined, messing up his hair in frustration. "It's not fair. It's not fair that you get to to live with Kuroki-chan, the girl you love, while I can barely get Sakura-chan to smile at me."

"You're too young to worry about love, Naruto." I commented absent-mindedly. I found out that becoming focused on something else calms me down when 'love' is involved.

"So are you." He replied childishly.

"Why do you think I react strangely to romantic things?"

"Do you?" Sasuke asked.

"I wonder." I said softly, I kind of forgot what we were on about.

"Ah, Kuroki-chan's in a daze again! Hey, we're here!" I turned to the left, seeing that we were, in fact, at the training grounds we normally trained at.

"That was...quick." I was surprised by how quick. It was probably because I hadn't been paying attention.

"Yo, you brats." Kuroi greeted us as we walked towards him, a light smirk on his face.

"Hey, dad." I greeted, a similar smirk taking my lips.

"Hey, Kuroi-sensei! What are we going to do today?!" Naruto inquired enthusiastically, grinning widely as usual.

"Some combat training. You and Sasuke as usual." Kuroi informed as he folded his arms and leaned against a tree stump that was conveniently behind him.

"Seriously?! But I want to do some cool jutsu!" The damned blonde complained.

"You just don't want to fight me again because you'll lose; as always." Sasuke grinned mischievously. I randomly grabbed a lock of his hair, which made him blink and turn to me.

"What, Teme?!" Naruto yet again growled at his rival. I let go of Sasuke's hair and jumped onto the tree stump Kuroi was leaning on.

"Do some exercises first. I've got to talk with Kuroki." Kuroi instructed casually.

Sasuke nodded silently, glancing at me before turning to go with his routine, Naruto reluctantly following along.

"What's up?" I asked, sitting down and crossing my legs whilst looking to the sky.

"How's he holding up?" My father asked, now sitting on the edge of the stump with me. I glanced to the Uchiha and Uzumaki, who had somehow as usual turned their exercises into a contest. Unfortunately for the blonde, Sasuke was winning.

"Better than I expected." I replied honestly. "I mean, he's been a bit more reserved as of late, but that may not necessarily be a bad thing. He doesn't emit much hostility to anyone, not even Naruto."

I saw Kuroi nod his head. "That's good. He still sleeps in your bed?" I glanced at him, and he was already looking at me, a smug smirk on his damn face.

"Kuh." Is what came out of my lips, like a sigh, but with a 'k'. "Yes, if you must know. He doesn't like sleeping by himself because he feels all alone."

"Understandable." Kuroi nodded again. "He's a tough kid. You said he hasn't cried since the day it happened?"

"From what I know, yeah. Who knows, maybe when he's by himself, he lets it all out." I replied, cracking my neck.

"Well, anyways. Enough talk. Time for some training."

"We have to work on my genjutsu," I informed him, jumping off the tree stump I used as a seat, "and on their teamwork." Naruto and Sasuke were now in a fist fight, yelling and throwing blows to each other. I grinned, even if they were fighting, they seemed to be having fun.

"Right." Kuroi agreed, pushing himself off the stump that I continue to mention. I'm going to name it Stumper.

"Oi, you idiots! Get over here. Time to test your teamwork."

Naruto and Sasuke ceased their little fight, both looked roughed up. They steadily made their way to Kuroi, both giving each other glares and smug smirks or grins.

"I can't work with Teme, Kuroi-sensei." Naruto commented, folding his arms for emphasis. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"If you don't work together to grab the bells from Kuroki-chan, no food for both of you." Kuroi smirked evilly. I smirk-grinned at the sadistic consequence. No food is horrible. Don't think otherwise. Seriously. Food is important. Especially bacon and sweets.

"Wait, what?!" Naruto exclaimed in a deafening tone, I cringed as his voice pained my sensitive ears. God fuck, how am I going to handle those three who use sound waves or some shit in the chunin exams?

"Shut up, Dobe! You're too loud." Sasuke scolded, covering his ears as he glared at the blonde.

"But does that have to be our punishment?" I'm going to hit this kid soon.

"Quit your whining, Naruto. I chose that because it seems to give you some motivation. Now form a plan with Sasuke and work _together_, understand?" Kuroi instructed, mostly eying Naruto than Sasuke, who was more compliant than that blonde idiot.

"I'll...do my best." The Uchiha responded, nodding his head lightly then grabbing a hold of the blonde's arm and dragging him away.

"Can you add more chakra to your weights to slow you down?" Kuroi asked as I watched the two distance themselves from us to plan.

"Yeah, sure." I replied casually, though a smirk escaped me. "I doubt it'll increase their chances though."

Kuroi returned the smirk, then we began to prepare for the little test. I wonder how shitty they'll do this time.

* * *

I had forgotten that time had a way of passing by rather quickly, because I was already physically twelve now. I was sitting on that grassy hill that held lots of memories, staring absent-mindedly up at the sky, watching the birds soar through the air. In the past two years Sasuke, Naruto and I had been training to better ourselves. The two brats had improved on their teamwork quite a lot, and while they bicker a lot, it just shows how close they are. My eyes shifted to the trees.

"I know you're there, Sasuke." I commented lazily, smirking softly as I saw rustling of the leaves and a raven-haired boy land on the ground below.

He walked towards me with his hands in his pockets, soon sitting next to me. My shifted back to the sky, but I soon closed them as I leaned on the Uchiha, who didn't seem to mind the extra weight.

"You got an offer to graduate, didn't you?" He asked, his voice had matured only in the slightest since he was eight. I felt myself smile.

"One of the teachers saw me training by accident, they said I had the opportunity to graduate at any given time." I replied, sighing. I knew this would happen sooner or later.

"Will you?" Sasuke asked, trying to sound nonchalant, but I could hear the worry in his tone. I opened my eyes, shifting to glance at him. A smirk-grin took my lips as I saw he was staring ahead with a light blush on he cheeks.

"Would you miss me if I did?" I teased, causing the Uchiha's blush to deepen and his onyx eyes to lightly glare at me.

"Of course I would." He replied immediately, his eyes showing how serious he was. I leaned back, laying down and using my arms as a pillow.

"I'm not going to accept, obviously." I said, sounding as though it was the most obvious thing in the world, causing the raven-haired boy to glare even more at me. "There's a reason why I started late, you know."

"Want to share that reason?" He asked, deciding to lay back on the grass with me. He had mellowed down from his energetic self, though had yet to become a douche. I'm so proud of myself. Thank me, otakus of Naruto who hate Sasuke! I have made him a new man! Well...that sounded a lot more dirtier than I expected. "Why are you grinning like that?"

"Huh?" I turned to him, having been snapped out of my thoughts. "Uh, yeah. My bad. Thought of something amusing, you see." I decided to tease him with a smirk. "It involved you."

"Wha-?" He looked surprised, then his surprise turned into a smirk. "Couldn't get me out of your thoughts, huh, Kuroki-chan?" Oh, touche Uchiha.

"No." I admitted, he was on my thoughts a lot, though just not for the reasons I was on his a lot. Didn't mean he wouldn't blush at the blunt answer.

"Hey," I started, tilting my head to the side as I watched some birds interact with each other, "when you get your forehead protector, where are you going to put it?"

I could see his movement of glancing at me, though I decided to just continue staring up at the sky. "Why?" He asked, but I just shrugged.

"Curiosity, really." That's truly all it was.

"I think I might put it on my arm." The Uchiha replied, I turned to him, and thus began another staring contest. Putting it on his arm instead of his forehead is different to the canon.

"What for?" I inquired curiously.

It was his turn to shrug. "I kind of want my bangs to fall over my forehead. If I have a forehead protector there, my side bangs will apparently look like duck wings." Pfft!

"Hahaha! Oh, shit! You remember that?" I blurted out, holding my stomach as I began to laugh uncontrollably. I mentioned that a while ago, but he still seemed to remember it. How cute.

"Well, of course idiot! Isn't it normal for me to be conscious of what you say?" He exclaimed to me, more so with embarrassment than frustration.

"Stopping making that goofy smile!"

"Wait, goofy?!"

"Yes, goofy!"

"Take that back, dammit! I have no goofy mouth movements!"

"No! Goofy like Naruto!"

"How dare you compare me to that monkey-like thing!"

"Hey, Kuroki! G-Get off me!"

"You're red, Uchiha. Any particular reason why?"

"You're on top of me, maybe!"

I wrapped my arms around his neck as I used his body as a bed, my forehead leaning against his as our eyes stared into one another. Now that just sounds romantic. Well, it wasn't. To me, anyways. At this stage, he's friend-zoned to the point where I could literally lay on him without any intimacy in my touch. Sasuke, though. When he rested his hands on my lower back, I could practically feel the affection radiating off his hands.

"You don't want me off, do you?" I teased with a small grin.

I felt him frown at me, but his pouting face was extremely cute, making my grin widen.

"Obviously not..." He shifted his weight, making me lay on my side as we continued to hug each other. I closed my eyes.

"Can you believe it?" I murmured.

"Believe what?"

"That we've been together for six years."

"No way." I opened my eyes to see the surprise in his eyes, but soon a smile appeared on his lips.

"I know. I still wonder everyday how you still manage to like me, even after these two years." I admitted, absent-mindedly staring at the Uchiha's nose.

"Stupid." I frowned, moving my eyes to make contact with his, but I froze only a second later. Want to guess?! ANYONE?! I'm fucking mentally hyperventilating because my body refuses to move! Is that even possible?!

* * *

My heart pounded against my ribcage. We were so close, her arms wrapped around me with her forehead against mine, those eyes...those eyes that seemed to be the only thing that made her self-conscious at times.

They were staring into mine, but I could never tell what danced around in her eyes other than the occasional amusement and anger. I was burning up, I knew. I was probably as red as a damn cherry right about now.

I was smiling. For six years, I'd known her. For six years she's been in my life. I don't care what others say about kids not being able to love. I love Kuroki. I do.

"I still wonder everyday how you still manage to like me, even after these two years." She said, staring at my nose. I frowned at her.

"Stupid." I said, and almost instantly she frowned, moving to glare at me but I did something I'd been wanting to do for a long time.

I kissed her.

My hands wrapped around her, pulling her to me as I squeezed my eyes shut. My hands were sweating as I clutched to the cloth of her hoodie, my eyes squeezed shut as I pressed my lips to hers. They were...soft.

She was probably frozen, and after I felt like I couldn't breathe any longer, I pulled back, panting lightly as I slowly opened my eyes. I refused to look at hers, keeping my eyes on her lips which seemed to be wide with frozen shock.

"I don't care what anyone says...I'll always love you, Kuroki." I whispered, finally gathering the courage to look at her eyes. I was surprised that she was still frozen with a completely shocked expression. It was mildly amusing.

I felt myself grin, feeling mischievous. I leaned closer again, but still got no reaction. I leaned even closer, and still nothing! Deciding; to hell with it, I'll have died with no regrets, I kissed her again, and finally, I got a reaction.

* * *

"WAARGH!" I screamed, pulling back and unwrapping my arms from the damned Uchiha. I rolled away on my side, then shifted to my knees, looking in horror at the child who had taken this body's first kiss.

"What the fuck, man?!" I yelled, my mind in chaos. I was never able to handle kissing well.

"Snrk..!" The brat made some kind of sound, trying to hide his impending laughter. Little shit.

"You little sh-"

"Cute." I blinked.

"What?"

"You're cute, Kuroki." He said, beginning to snicker.

"Incredibly cute. One of the many reasons I continue to love you." He said, soon calming down and grinning brightly at me. I frowned even more than I seemed to already be doing.

"Shut up. You're cute too, you know." I said, sighing and shifting to sit down. I watched as his face became as red as I knew mine was.

"W-What? No way." He denied with a stutter, currently fidgeting uncomfortably now. My turn to grin, bitch.

"You are. I think you're cute all the time...When you smile, when you get jealous..." I started, moving to crawl towards him. He remained silent, but I swear he'll overheat at this rate.

"But I've got to kill you now." I said matter-of-factly, pouncing on him and wrapping my arms around him in a headlock.

"K-Kuroki! Let go, dammit!" He struggled as I grinned like a maniac.

"Never! You're going to pay for taking my lips!" I cackled...I knew it. I'm going to be insane and kill everyone who defies me. Aha...Ahahaha!

"Kuroki~! Let go!" The Uchiha whined in that...that voice of cuteness.

"Aha!"

"Fuck!"

"You want to get off, Uchiha?" I frowned at the at the top of the head of the oh, so wonderful Uchiha. His arms wrapped around my waist now.

"Not a chance, Taidana." Little shit. I can _hear_ the smirk. _Hear it_.

"Well, well. Should I leave you two alone?"

"The fuck?!" I looked up, and saw...Kakashi.

"It's been a while, Kuroki-chan. I see you're busy, so I'll leave you to it." He seemed to smile, wave and began to wander off. I called out to him.

"Hey, wait! Don't leave me with this leech!"

"Kuroki..."

I looked down. "What-Holy shit, you're as red as a baboon's ass."

* * *

And there we have it. The long awaited chapter eleven. It's shit, I know. Go on, kill me. Kill me for being incredibly late, then you'll never get the future chapters. How about that. I do love you people. And I'm sorry. Thanks again for the reviews, the favourites, all of it. Review, my lovelies. Review. The program where I edited the chapters is down, so it may be incredibly horrible in the punctuation department.


	12. Let's make a bet Neji

**Hello! How are you all? Terrible? I know, that's life. Gives us shit. Anyways. I have something lovely for those who wanted Neji as a possible pairing with Kuroki. I do look at the polls, and currently, Sasuke is coming first with Neji coming in second. I do apologize if he's a little OOC. Again, I'm not able to edit the chapter properly, so punctuation may be a bit bad. I do listen to any requests you guys have, and thank you all for being supportive with reviews, favourites and followings. Now, this is a test chapter for Neji. Vote on whether you only want Sasuke as the pairing, or Neji as the rival. It's your guys' choice whether you want Neji in Kuroki's romantic interests or not! So review it!**

* * *

A dark grin grew upon the darkness, its teeth sharp and glowing against the contrasting background. It was blinding, but for some reason, I couldn't look away. It was as though it was drawing me in, telling me to come closer. I began to walk towards that smile, and soon, I noticed the grin had a body that was shadowed in darkness, but I could see the outline, its arm outstretched, appearing to be waiting for me.

'Closer, Kuroki...' A wispy voice sounded in my ears, like the wind brushing past. It sent shivers down my spine, but I continued to walk closer to it. It patiently waited for me, and I could see that the outline of its hands were jagged and claw-like. It fascinated me. 'Closer...' I was close now, stretching my arm to reach out towards it...so close...

"Kuroki!" My eyes shot open, and I instantly sat up, breathing heavily. I noticed the coat of sweat on my skin, and I wondered if it was to do with that dream. I looked to my left, to see Sasuke sitting up and peering up at me with worried eyes, the moon illuminating his face. Not even three seconds later was his arms around my waist and his face buried into my chest. I instinctively wrapped my arms around his, resting my chin on his head. "Are you okay?" He mumbled, and I sighed. What was I doing in my sleep?

"I'm fine...really." I replied, leaning back against the wall. For the past few weeks, I've been having the same dream over and over again. It called to me, and frankly, I've been losing a large amount of sleep because of it. I heard Shiruba whimper softly, crawling across the bed and nudging my face worriedly with his nose. I smiled softly and began to pet him. "Was I doing it again?"

I felt Sasuke nod against my chest, pulling back to look up at me with a frown. "You were clawing at your face and arms again...I'm really worried about you, Kuroki." He whispered, looking down. I unwrapped an arm from him and brought my hand up to sweep the bangs on his forehead away, resting mine on his.

"I'm sorry...did you want to sleep in the other room? You won't be getting any sleep if you're here with me." I apologised softly, closing my eyes due to me being extremely tired. My eyes snapped open when I felt pressure on my lips again. Little shit.

"No. I'm staying." He said after pulling back, his frown still evident on his youthful face. I sighed and wrapped my arms around him, pulling him down to lay down with me. He made a small yelping sound and our heads fell onto the pillows.

"Keep me in your arms, then, okay?" I smiled softly, tightening my grip on him and pulling him closer. While I wasn't afraid of that strange dreams, I knew Shiruba and Sasuke were worried, so I had to try and comfort them.

Sasuke and Shiruba stilled, and I could hear their steady breaths. I was on the verge of sleep, when a familiar figure stood at the front of my door, its grin glowing. I saw that its figure was completely black, like a shadow. I saw no eyes, but even though it was what people thought to be terrifying...I felt no fear. It stood there, seeming to be watching me as I stared at it. It took a step closer to the bed.

'I'll be waiting...Kuroki..' I closed my eyes as I felt the whisper enter my ears. I knew it was gone...for now.

* * *

"Dobe! Get back here, dammit!" The Uchiha yelled throughout the house a I heard the thumping of feet run all around the house. I sighed as I wiped the steam away from the mirror. I have to say...I have nice skin, when it isn't covered in blood, dust, scratches and scars, it's pretty good. I heard the monkey laugh of the Uzumaki echo.

"Naruto! Be careful, alright?" Aonami called. I snickered at how lively the house always seemed to be. I stared at my eyes through the mirror. They still irked me. I sighed, deciding to get dressed now.

I pulled my gloves on as I walked down the stairs, Shiruba following loyally. I could hear Sasuke and Naruto bicker at the table. "I didn't lose the bet! You made me pick paper!" Naruto exclaimed, standing on the chair and leaning over to be all up in his rival's face who sat opposite of him. The Uchiha rolled his eyes.

"I can't make you pick paper. You picked it yourself." He replied with an annoyed tone. A sigh escaped me as I walked into the kitchen where Aonami stood, making breakfast.

"I do hope that's bacon." I said, looking at the frying pan where bacon strips sat. Aonami turned and smiled at me.

"Of course it is. I'm making bacon for you, Shiruba and Naruto-kun, then I'll make some omusubi for Sasuke-kun." She replied, beaming as usual. I smirk-grinned, then went to the fridge and opened the door, looking inside for something to drink.

"Kuroki-chan!" Naruto called, I turned to look back at him. "How should I ask Sakura-chan out?" He asked, determined. I blinked, then snorted.

"Give her flowers and ask if she'd like to go play on the swings." I managed to say before falling into a fit of snickers and giggles. Ten year olds wanting to ask each other out. What has the world come to?

"Really?!" Naruto exclaimed loudly, thinking I was being serious.

"Dobe. She was kidding." Sasuke let a small grin take his lips. I smirk-grinned at him before turning around to look at Aonami, who was smiling softly to herself.

"Your uncle is coming to see us." She informed me. I tilted my head.

"Your side or dad's?" I inquired, jumping up and sitting on the free space on the counter. I crossed my legs as Shiruba sat on the ground beside me. Kuroi must've had a mission, because he wasn't home.

I watched as Aonami expertly handled breakfast. "My side. He says he wants to meet my lovely little daughter." She smiled. I snorted.

"I'm the 'lovely little daughter'?" I rephrased with a sarcastic tone, snickering. Drowning out Naruto's voice has become a special skill of mine. Aonami grinned as she placed the finished bacon on three sets of plates, the smell intoxicating.

"Any daughter of mine is lovely." She replied, grabbing another plate and putting the finished omusubi she made when the bacon was cooking. Shiruba jumped up and I jumped over to the table, landing in the seat beside Sasuke. Shiruba jumped up onto the seat beside Naruto, and Aonami set each plate of bacon in front of us, placing the omusubi in front of Sasuke. All bickering stopped as we savoured the taste of heaven.

* * *

"I'm bored." Naruto drawled as he dropped his head on the table. Iruka was going on about jutsus and all. We were all in the same class now. Choji sat closet to the window, Shikamaru beside him. I sat next to the Nara with the Uchiha beside me, Naruto beside him, Sakura then Kiba. Altogether in the back row.

I often leaned back to find that Hinata had been sneaking glances at the monkey every so often, she was at the back row on the other side of the room. When she noticed me looking at her, she flushed and looked away as quickly as possible. I smirk-grinned.

I began to stick paper onto my arm out of boredom, resting my head on my hand that was propped up by my elbow on the table. "School is boring. That's why I sleep during this time." I murmured absent-mindedly, feeling my eyes grow heavy. I could feel Sasuke's worried glance on me, but I decided to keep my eyes on the paper sticking to my arms.

"Well said," Shikamaru agreed, leaning back and folding his hands behind his head. "School is troublesome."

Naruto groaned. "You guys are smart as hell! Yous are just lazy." He said, squinting his eyes in accusation. I sighed.

"You got that right." Shikamaru and I said in unison.

"Naruto! Shut your trap or I'm giving you detention!" Iruka snapped at the blonde. Said blonde blew a rasberry at him, causing Iruka's vein to bulge.

"I'll just escape like every other time!" Naruto taunted, standing up and leaning on the table. Hear we go again.

"Over my dead body, you will!" Iruka snarled, he threw chalk at Naruto and it hit his forehead with such force he flew off the seats and landed on the wall, sliding down. I lost my shit. So did the rest of the class who had a sense of humour or wasn't overcome with worry for the blonde.

"OWWW!" Naruto whined in pain, rubbing his forehead as he sat on the ground, glaring daggers at everyone who was in his peripheral vision. I wasn't included, because I was dying with my hands clutching my stomach, my head in the lap of the Uchiha and my feet curled up to my chest before he got the chance to turn his gaze to me.

* * *

I continued to snicker with Kiba as we made our way to our usual seating spot, Naruto grumbling in annoyance as Sakura told him it served him right.

"Looks like we're training without you, Dobe." Sasuke teased the blonde for getting detention. I sat down, leaning against the trunk of the massive tree with Shikamaru on one side and Sasuke on the other. We placed our lunches in the middle of the circle we always seemed to form.

"Bet you're happy about that, huh Uchiha?" Kiba commented suggestively, giving a toothy grin whilst Akamaru began to eat his lunch. I didn't bother looking to see Sasuke's reaction, because I was busy eating.

"I am. I don't have to hear Dobe yelling about how he's going to beat me when he's obviously not." This little remark set Naruto off, but thank fuck Sakura was here to slap him upside the head with a water bottle. That chick is dangerous with a water bottle.

"That's not the only thing you're happy about." I commented, glancing at the Uchiha who frowned at me, that little blush surfacing to his skin. I stuck some rice in my mouth and decided to look away.

"Anyways, you guys have been learning your family's techniques, right?" I asked casually, looking to Shikamaru, Kiba and Choji. They all nodded. I guessed as much. Sasuke and I went to that hidden place with all the Uchiha clan's secrets, or something. He got his sharingan last year. That's a plot twist for the land of the waves.

"It's troublesome." The Nara commented, I smirk-grinned. An expected response.

"I think it's fun, especially when we finish and get to eat." Choji said, smiling as he stuffed a meat bun in his mouth. Cute thing.

"I've been working on medical jutsus and practices." Sakura stated, smiling proudly. "I was fascinated with how many different types of plants there were."

I was about to reply when a blonde hair popped into my view. I leaned to the side to see Ino walking over to us. Everyone noticed me staring, and they turned their heads in the same direction, seeing Ino. Sakura smiled and stood up, racing over to hug her best friend.

"Ino!" Sakura smiled as she hugged her best friend, who hugged her back. Naruto made a 'yulgh!' sound and turned away, moving to eat some more. How very like him. I decided to eat to.

"Sakura! Leaving me to hang out with Sasuke-kun again, are you?" Ino said with a volume higher than necessary. At least she was...outgoing. She pulled back from the hug and placed her hands on her hips, a smile on her small face. Sakura sighed, tired of all the fangirls pestering her about Sasuke.

"You forget I hang out with Sasuke and the others because they're my friends, Ino-pig." Sakura replied with a tone that sounded exhasperated. Ino grinned, taking no offence to the name and turned her eyes to Sasuke, who looked a little annoyed.

"Sasuke-kun! Do you want to eat lunch with me?" She said in that voice that I couldn't describe. It irritated me, that's for sure.

"Don't think he does, Yamanaka." Shikamaru commented coolly, smirking at the female blonde. Said blonde shifted her eyes to the Nara and glared.

"Wasn't asking you." She replied with hostility. I sighed, munching on some dango. I wrapped an arm around Sasuke's shoulder and pulled him to me, a surprised gasp escaping him. Ino caught the movement and turned her gaze to me. I flashed her my infamous smirk-grin.

"Sorry, Ino. Sasuke's mine." I said casually, which caused a mixture of reactions. Naruto and Kiba laughed, Ino growled and Sakura attempted to defuse her friend as she was being dragged off. She shot me an apologetic smile, but I waved. This was normal. Ino and I weren't the greatest of friends, obviously.

"I do hope you're blushing, Uchiha." I commented, releasing said Uchiha and glancing at his face. He was frowning, hard, probably trying to contain his immense blush and failing badly. I gave satisfied smile and continued on with eating.

"Kuroki-chan is awesome!" Naruto yelled to the world, fist pumping in the air. I smiled.

I have to say, right now, life is fun.

* * *

He ran at me, eyes focused. He shifted to throw a punch at me, but I blocked and countered by pulling his arm towards me and kicking his shin, causing his balance to go off and fall towards me. I let go of his hand and moved to kick him in the stomach, which sent him flying back and tumbling across the ground. He coughed when he finally stopped moving and sat up, dirt all over him as he clutched his stomach. I smiled innocently.

"You can do better than that." I commented, trudging over to him and offering to lend him my hand. He took it and I pulled him up.

"So, are you always holding back when you fight me?" He asked breathlessly, continuing to hold onto my hand.

"Yep." I replied immediately. Fighting Kakashi or Kuroi was a real challenge, so compared to them, Sasuke was an easy opponent. I'm sure he'll get stronger though...and hotter. Well, hormones. Nice to see you again. You're going to ruin my innocent image of Sasuke, aren't you? You are?! I knew it.

"You should work on your sharingan. I'm heading out for a bit, so don't wait up, alright?" I said, releasing my hold on his hand and beginning to trudge away.

"See you later." He called behind me, and I raised a hand as a goodbye. I jumped, landing on a nearby branch and made my way through the village.

I dropped down when I was near a familiar figure, who immediately turned to throw a punch at me with great speed. Luckily, I was able to catch his fist before I was punched in the face.

"Nice to see you too, Neji." I greeted the overly-serious eleven year old. He glared at me, before basically tearing his arm hand away from my grip and continuing to walk down the street.

"It's Hyuga to you, Taidana." He replied sternly, I smirk-grinned, following him with my hands in my pockets.

"It's Neji to me, Neji." I retorted teasingly, glancing around the street we were walking down. I met Neji a while ago, I think maybe a year ago or something. I have to say, it was a fun fight.

"What do you want?" He demanded, looking over to me with hard eyes. I liked his lavender eyes, there weren't pupils, so I always wondered how he could see without the Byakugan.

"I can't say hello to a friend of mine?" I grinned, nudging his shoulder with mine. I purposefully used more force than necessary, causing him to tip and having to regain his balance. He glared at me, but that was normal.

"No, you can't. I'm no friend of yours." His words caused me to snicker.

"But what if it was fate, Neji?" I asked, leaning close to his face as we walked. I found it funny as his gaze hardened even more than it already was. He appeared to have no answer for that.

"You need to lighten up a bit, you know? While you've just been a bundle of joy since we've met, I do believe that it was fate that we did." I commented, cracking my neck as we turned a corner.

"Even if I wished it otherwise, we cannot fight fate." He said quietly, in a begrudging tone. I pulled his hair, which made him pull back and glare at me again. I continued to smirk-grin.

"Says you. Let's make a bet. In two years, you're going to meet someone who doesn't agree with you, and they're going to do everything in their being to prove you wrong." I proposed, which caused the Hyuga to frown at me.

"What kind of bet is that?" He asked, stopping in the middle of an empty street to look at me.

"The bet is that you're going to meet someone who's going to prove you wrong."

"And if I don't?" He frowned and began to walk ahead. I followed.

"I'll do whatever you want for two weeks. How about that?" I smirk-grinned, taking my hands out of my pockets to run a hand through my hair.

"Hardly a prize." He commented, rolling his eyes. He glanced at me, a glint of curiosity in his lavender eyes. "If you win?"

I stepped in front of him, turning to face him with a mischievous grin. I leaned close to his face, both of us having strong eye contact with each other. "You do what I want for two weeks."

He scoffed. "An unlikely thing isn't bound to happen. This is a trivial bet." He stated, his voice yet again stern.

"Then you won't mind making it." I replied, tilting my head in an innocent matter. He glared at me long and hard before sighing.

"Fine. Now move." He agreed, and I moved out of his way, letting him walk by. I followed again.

"Can I go to your house with you again?" I asked. First time I went there, everyone was all formal, but it seemed that a few people knew who I was. I even met someone who said they saw me when Kurama was out, and my parents had to take me home. They were nice people, if a bit stern like the Hyuga next to me.

"No." He replied almost immediately.

"Come on. I'm probably the only one who's capable of fighting you without you having to hold back." I said, trying to convince him. I didn't fail to notice how he glared ahead of him.

"I have watch that useless girl learn to fight." He said, his voice full of scorn.

"Hinata? All the better, I can be there to cheer you up when you're releasing tons of hostility." I grinned.

"She's weak. She isn't cut out to be a ninja, too kind and not confident. It's best if they stopped trying." Neji really hated her, huh? I poked him, and he pulled away from my touch so quickly he nearly fell over.

"Pfft!" I held my stomach for the impending pain as I laughed at the Hyuga's reaction. I could basically feel his glare burning me, but I couldn't stop. Even though he was probably incredibly embarrassed, he didn't move from glaring at me. I calmed down after a little bit, and when I could finally open my eyes; there he was, glaring at the ground.

"You know what I want to see?" I asked him, stepping closer. He looked up, appearing to be steeling his eyes again.

"What?" He nearly spat, either in anger, embarrassment or both.

"Your mark." I said, completely serious. Apparently, my change in demeanour took him off guard, and his eyes widened, before he regained himself and glared at me, stepping back.

"I already showed you." He replied, something in his voice sounding different.

"Show me again." I said, stepping closer again. Another heated glare as pointed at me again.

"Why?"

"Because I need to show you that this mark doesn't define who you are, Neji." I replied, touching the bandages wrapped around his forehead. He turned his head away, but I grabbed the string thing that resided on both sides of his face, framing it, and pulled his head back to me. He glared, grabbing my hand and trying to pry it off, but I had stronger grip.

"Let go." He demanded sternly. I sighed.

"Really, Neji. You've known me this long, yet you still treat me this way." I said softly. He stared at me.

"Why do you try so hard to be my friend?" He asked out of the blue, which made me blink. I still held the string thing whilst he held my wrist.

"I can't fight fate, can I?" I replied, smiling. The Hyuga's eyes yet again widened, but then something unexpected happened. He smirked. My turn to be surprised.

"I've never met anyone like you." He stated, but I was more worried about that unusual expression that held a smirk and a dark look in his eyes.

"That's to be expected. I'm one of a kind." I retorted, tilting my head at him. I let go of his string thing, but he didn't let go of my wrist.

"Beat me in a fight, and I'll treat you better as a friend." He proposed.

"Deal. Let's go." I agreed instantly, I could feel myself grin evilly. Neji's strong, but I have a lot of secrets.

* * *

I bent my knees, using them to keep my upper body up by placing my hands on my thighs, leaning over and panting heavily. That was some fight. I blinked as I breathed in, leaning back and standing back to my full height. Thy sky was coloured in orange, yellow and red. I took my time trudging over to the Hyuga breathing hard on the ground on his back. He looked to me as he continued to pant.

I dropped to my knees beside him, then shifted to cross my legs. He took his time sitting up, resting his forearms on his thighs. We stayed silent as we caught our breaths.

"You missed out on watching the princess." I said softly, finally able to steady my breathing. He frowned.

"I'd rather spend my time with you than watch her." He spat, but I only grinned at that compliment.

"I won, you know." I informed him. First person to drop down in exhaustion was the loser. He lightly glared at me.

"Unfortunately. I have to train more." He said, gritting his teeth in annoyance. I leaned forward, resting my forehead on his shoulder. He surprisingly didn't move it out of the way.

"So, after knowing me for about more than a year, do you finally accept me as your friend?" I asked, looking up to face him. He glanced at me, a frown on his face.

"I'm only doing this because I'm curious, so don't get any ideas." He commented, and I tilted my head, at first thinking he meant our friendship, but the fact that his face was closer and I felt lips on the corner of my mouth told me otherwise. As quick as it happened, he pulled away, then moved to stand up.

I blinked.

Then I blinked again.

"AGAIN?!" I yelled in horror to the world, my hands dramatically holding my aching head. In the corner of my eyes, I saw the damned Hyuga look back at me over his shoulder, a smirk planted clearly on his fucking lips.

"My consolation prize, Kuroki." He stated, then before I could reply, he was gone.

"That arrogant little mother fucker!" I exclaimed, throwing a punch into the ground, which successfully caused a small crater. Fucking lucky shit it wasn't on the lips.

After it had became dark, I finally calmed down, but the training ground that had training dummies and all were completely destroyed, trees were demolished, the ground having my craters and kunai in it.

Who knew that Hyuga Neji could be that fucking arrogant! Motherfucker! I wasn't informed on this in the canon! Why, Masashi Kishimoto! Why?!

I opened the door to my home, exhausted, but my loyal pet Shiruba bolted into the hallway and sprinted at me. I caught him as he jumped on me, greeting me home with barks and licks and all that. I smiled tiredly.

"Hey, Shiruba. You wouldn't believe the day I've had."

I closed the door behind me, then walked into the kitchen, seeing Aonami cooking and Sasuke in the fridge. He looked at me, then grinned. I returned it with my own grin. "Welcome home, Kuroki." He said, passing me a drink that I liked. I grabbed it, and that's when Aonami looked to me with a beaming smile.

"Hello, Kuroki~. Welcome home. I'm cooking dinner, so clean yourself up, okay?" She greeted me, then resumed her chopping of the meat.

"Alright, thanks." I thanked, drinking the drink and putting the bottle in the sink, out of the way of the food. "Sasuke." I said the Uchiha's name as he was rummaging through the fridge. He stopped and looked to me, when I suddenly leaned forward and kissed his cheek. He blew up with red. I smiled then began to walk to the stairs with Shiruba.

"Aw! Sasuke, you're all red!" I heard Aonami gush from the kitchen. I snickered at hearing the Uchiha attempt to make excuses.

"What a day." I commented, throwing my clothes off and stepping into the shower, turning it on and letting the cold water wash over my body. I leaned my head on the wall as the water gradually became warmer.

Neji isn't going to be like that when he's older, right? He's going to be all mature, calm and shit, right? Maybe it's better he be cold to me now rather than an arrogant kid who knows my weaknesses. This is my fault.

I wiped the steam off the mirror, and I was mildly surprised by the grinning figure whose body was completely black. I turned back, and there it was.

"After I had a shower? Really?" I asked it, more casually than I thought. It sniggered quietly, its grin never faulting. It stepped towards me, its claw-like black fingers brushed against my cheek, and shivers bolted through me.

'Kuroki...' I frowned at it, but I was sure it was male, even though it just looked like a corporeal shadow. 'Soon...'

"Soon, what?" I inquired, tilting my head. It leaned closer, and I leaned against the base of the sink. Was it real? Was it apart of my imagination? Why could I feel it, then?

'You'll see...' I blinked, and it was gone. I looked to the ground. I really wonder what the hell it wants with me.

* * *

**And there we have it. It's a good thing that I actually have the motivation to do it, even if it's not my best chapter. DON'T IGNORE THIS. I'm giving you guys the choice of choosing whether the next chapter is the chapter where they finally get sorted into teams and the plot starts, or we go with another filler. Put it in your reviews, please. Anything you'd like to ask me, just pm me or something. I decided not to put in Neji and Kuroki's meeting because that means backflashes, which I'm not in the mood for. I do hope he wasn't too OOC for you guys. **

**I'm going to need reviews. I can't update unless I have people telling me whether they want the plot or filler for the next chapter. So, if you guys are wondering why I won't be updating in the next two to three weeks, it's because people aren't giving me enough thoughts to go on. Sorry to those who really want an update.  
**


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